Scrappily Ever After (formerly titled Percy Gets Cornered)
by kenzyhope2010
Summary: Upon walking into his apartment one day, Percy unwittingly finds himself by a hyperactive Piper, Reyna and Annabeth. Funny first chapter in which Percy is clueless to how girls function, moving on to include such exploits as The Great Skeleton Dance Party of Freshman Year and cough medecine side-effects. LOL'd while writing, hope you do while reading!
1. Attack of the Girls

Percy knew instantly he'd made a mistake.

All he'd done was walk in the door. He'd come in from a class-Mythological Beasts & Their Origins at the University of New Rome, which turned out to be awesome. You'd think walking into his own apartment after said class would be harmless.

It should be said that it was not only his apartment. Being six months away from graduating, he'd finally turned to Annabeth and gone, "So when are we getting married?" Which led to the pair getting an apartment on the piazza. And that was great. It made Percy crazy happy.

He had not been expecting this.

Percy froze on his own threshold. Annabeth, Piper and Reyna were sitting in the living room. Staring at him in a way that made him think instantly that a) he'd walked into a lion's den, and b) they'd been talking about him.

"See?" Said Annabeth, eagerly, confirming his assumption.

"I totally see it!" Piper yelped. "Oh my gods, I can't believe I never noticed that."

"It is a little distracting," Reyna admitted, fighting a grin.

"Um," Percy said awkwardly, "hi?"

"Hi," Annabeth said, smiling reassuringly up at him. He relaxed a little and risked a few steps into his living room. Piper and Annabeth had sprawled over the couch. Reyna was curled in the armchair angled to face both them and the TV. Both pieces of furniture were grouped around the coffee table, which was scattered with magazines, coffee mugs, and various weaponry most of the time but was now clean and tidy. "How was class?"

"Good," he said nervously. "Am I, uh, interrupting something?"

Piper put her face in her hands and howled with laughter. Reyna buried her face in the arm of her chair and cracked up. Annabeth fought back giggles.

"Sorry," Piper gasped. "It's just-that hair-"

Reyna lost it entirely, which Percy found weird on multiple levels despite how close a friend Reyna had become.

"Where's Hazel?" He asked randomly, doing another head count and realizing their usual foursome was missing a number.

"Class," Annabeth gasped out.

Percy's cell phone rang. New Rome being a safe haven for demigods, phones were okay to use. Percy checked his caller ID. It was his mom.

"I should take this." He made to leave the room but Piper reached out, grabbed him arm, and yanked him onto the sofa. She had to move her legs out of the way, and so did Annabeth, but as soon as he was seated both girls plopped their feet down in his lap. Girlfriend and honorary sister invading his personal space once again. Percy, completely blindsided, suddenly found himself answering his phone.

"Hey," he croaked, a little shocked. Piper giggled. Annabeth smirked.

"Hi, Percy! Is this a bad moment?" His mom's voice still made him feel warm inside. Percy relaxed. "Uh, no, not really. I-"

"PUT YOUR PANTS ON!" Piper screamed right next to the phone. Annabeth shrieked with muffled laughter. Reyna had to leave the room.

"OH MY GODS PIPER!" Percy yelled.

"Piper's there?" Sally sounded amused rather than concerned. "Tell her hi for me."

"I will," Percy snarled, fending off Piper's smirk on one side and his girlfriend's socked feet nudging him in the face on the other. "Mom says hi, Pipes."

"HI!" Reyna bellowed out of nowhere, scaring Percy so badly he almost dropped the phone.

"Say, "I am totally hot sea spawn," Piper shouted at Percy in charmspeak.

"I am totally hot sea spawn," Percy said into the phone.

"What?" Came Sally's alarmed voice. "Percy, are you okay?"

Annabeth was crying she was laughing so hard. She made eye contact with her friends, mimed straightening bangs, and set the three of them collapsing into giggles again.

"Sorry," Percy yelped into the phone, attempting an escape only to be pulled back by Reyna yanking his shirt backwards. "Sorry. Piper charmspeaked me."

"Is she the one laughing in the background?"

"That would be Piper, Annabeth and Reyna," Percy said, giving them all death glares. "Apparently ganging up on me."

"Did you walk in on them talking?" Sally asked wisely.

"Um. Yes," Percy admitted sheepishly.

Sally sighed. "So much promise-dashed away. Never walk in on girls conferring, Percy. Soak them if you must. I just called to check in. What's been happening?"

"Let me talk!" annabeth grabbed the phone. "Hi, Sally. My cousin turns out to be descended from a Norse mythological deity and is in fact not dead. He has a candy-striped elf friend and a snappily dressed dwarf for friends. I am done talking."

And she thrust the phone back into Percy's hands.

"Uh," Percy said into the phone. "That was strange."

"What was that about candy elves?" Sally asked, clearly confused.

"I think they've all gone insane," Percy said peevishly. "I'm going to make my exit. Love you."

"Love you, too. Stay safe!" Sally hung up.

"YOU GUYS!" Percy howled, and all three girls burst into fresh giggles. "Why on Earth are you torturing me?"

"It's only because we love you," Annabeth said consolingly, kissing his cheek.

"What was that stuff about Magnus?"

"I'll tell you later," she promised. "Shoo. We're talking."

"You're the one pinning me!" percy exclaimed.

"Jason is bored. Go play with him," Piper suggested, lifting her feet up. Percy glanced at her zebra-striped moustache socks. "Nice socks," he mentioned, getting to his own feet at last and making a beeline for the door. He paused, then turned to the girls. "What were you talking about when I came in?"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Putting up a finger as if to say; hold that thought; Percy opened the door. There stood Nico DiAngelo, in black as usual, but still much healthier and happier looking than he'd been four years ago.

" _There_ you are," he said, irritated. "We're getting some sparring matches going. I tried calling."

"Nico," Reyna yelled, appearing suddenly and dragging him inside. With a shock, Percy realized Nico-who'd been growing like a weed-was suddenly a solid half inch taller than Reyna-which made him a half inch shorter than Percy, and that was it. Besides that, Nico looked the same, if leaner. Weird.

"I'm answering your question," Reyna informed Percy. She turned to Nico. "Most distracting thing about Percy. Go."

"the hair," nico said immediately.

'WHAT?" Percy yelped.

"You've got this tuft right hereish," Nico pointed to the peak of his own forehead where his own messy hair stuck out at odd angles, "That sticks straight out like an arrow. It's super distracting."

"SEE?" Annabeth yelled at Piper.

"I wasn't doubting you!" Piper exclaimed, laughing.

"Wait, WHAT?" Percy's hand flew to his hair. "Since when?"

Nico shrugged. "Dude. I do not track your hair habits. Well, I do more than other guys, but still-I have no freakin idea."

"Spring," Reyna said promptly. "When Annabeth wrestled you into a haircut and you got Frank to do it."

"He seemed qualified!" Percy protested weakly.

"GO!" Reyna said, laughing, pushing him and Nico at the door. "We are talking!"

The door shut behind them. Nico and Percy stared at each other.

"Um," Nico said. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea," Percy said, dazed, and wandered down the hall towards the piazza and bright sunshine.


	2. Plotting and Doubting

"And that was what happened when I walked in," Percy finished as Jason's sword smashed against his.

"Dude," Jason yelped as Percy twisted his blade out from under his, "I apologize for Piper. She was acting really hyper this morning. But they really all ganged up on you, huh?'"

Nico, inspecting his Stygian iron blade a the side of the ring, laughed out loud. "You should've seen it. They were laughing at his hair."

"The bang thing?" Frank said wisely, leaning against the fence edging the ring.

"And how distracting it is?" Leo added from his perch, straddling said fence with some manner of tinker toy in his hands,

Percy flung his arms wide in exasperation."Does everyone but me know about this?"

"Yes," they all said immediately. Jason would've taken advantage of Percy's distraction, had he not already been pinned to the ground by a) Percy's foot and b) Percy's sword.

"Air," Jason rasped. "Please." Percy too his foot away and gave Jason a hand up, unconsciously fingering his messy tuft of hair.

'I don't know," Percy mumbled, striding towards the edge of the ring where Frank, Nico and Leo were hanging out. "It just made me feel like an idiot, you know? Got on my nerves."

"You could always get back at them," Frank suggested.

Leo grinned, "What if you duplicated the situation? Like, Annabeth walks in, and there's Frank and I on your couch, and we're all just staring at her."

Jason grinned. "That could work. If we planned it really well."

"Maybe got some of the girls in on it? Hazel? Possibly Reyna,or maybe Calypso?" Nico said thoughtfully, still examining the hilt of his blade. everyone stared at him as if this stroke of prank genius was completely unprecedented, which it was not. The Great Skeleton Dance Party of Freshman Year was not likely to be forgotten anytime soon,

"I like it, I like it," Leo grinned. "Cadaver Hands strikes again!"

Nico's sword was at Leo's throat, "DO NOT," he growled, "call me CADAVER HANDS."

"But your hands are freezing!" Leo squeaked, wide-eyed. Which was true, as Leo knew from various secret handshakes, video games, and sword drills. It did not help that to Leo, who ran hot, everyone else's hands were ALWAYS cold.

"THAT DOES NOT WARRANT A NICKNAME," Nico hissed,

"Yessir," Leo 's voice was a pitiful squeak. "Please put big pain-inflicting sword away."

Nico put big pain-inflicting sword away.

Jason got a call forty-three minutes before Leo's carefully planned Zero Hour, just as he was about to leave. Reyna was busy with praetor duty, taking over for Frank, but she was in position for her role in the prank, to which she'd agreed under threat of soaking. Annabeth and Piper had class for another fifty-three minutes. Hazel was fully involved in the prank and ready to go. She said she was sorry she'd missed the action the day before and was eager for her own chance to get involved. Nico was ready. Leo was on his way over to Percy's. Jason was about to leave himself. The call took him completely by surprise.

"Um, 'ello?" He said, the phone pressed between shoulder and ear as he ran around his own shared apartment trying desperately to find his sword.

"ABORT MISSION!" Percy's voice hollered in his ear,

"Slightly panicked much?" Jason looked the couch. He didn't know where Piper hid his weapons, but it was annoying. She insisted the same was true about leaving them lying around. IT was an argument they had not resolved. They'd gotten-distracted.

"Dude, she is going to hate me, like, KILL ME," percy said.

"No, she won't. She's got a sense of humour. Maybe she'll even think it's clever."

"I'm laughing. You hearing me laughing right now? Bro, I know I was mad at her yesterday, but we-now, I, uh…"

Percy's blush could literally be heard over the line. Jaos stood bolt upright.

"Dude," he said suddenly. "You did not."

Silence.

"PERCY FREAKIN JACKSON!"

"I'll see you in ten." Percy hung up really fast.

Jason showed up in eight.

"TALK," he ordered.

"NO," Percy insisted. "Then she'll really kill me."

"I'll get Piper to tell me," Jason threatened.

"Dude, no!"

Leo passed by. "We have work to do," he said completely out of character, "What are you arguing about, anyway?"

"NOTHING," both Jason and Percy yelled. Leo nodded. "So sex then."

"NO!" Percy yelled. Jason stared at Leo. "Definitely sex," Leo said, and walked away just as calm as you please.

"I am deeply alarmed," percy said, staring after him.

"Well," Jason said slowly, "he did open a garage with Calypso...and lives with her…"

"You live with Piper," Percy pointed ou. His eyes snapped open. "Gods! You live with Piper! That just hit me all of a sudden!" percy's eyes took on a panicked look that made Jason REALLY nervous.

"Um, what about that, exactly?" Jason asked anxiously.

Percy grabbed his friend's shirt, wild-eyed. "YOU LIVE WITH HER! ALL THE TIME! The charmspeak and the looks and the weapons ALL THE TIME! HOW DO YOU DO IT!"

"Um, I love her?" Jason asked anxiously. "YOU live with Annabeth and she's terrifying!"

"To YOU maybe!"

"We're arguing about girls?" Leo asked perkily, popping into the conversation.

"NO!" Both screamed again.

"Okay. Nobody's a loving the McShizzle," Leo mumbled, putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture,

"We'll finish this later," Jason sighed, exhausted "We have a prank to execute."


	3. The Boys Get Revenge

Annabeth walked in to her apartment to find Leo and Percy on the couch and Jason in the armchair, in direct mimicking of her and her friends' positions from the day before. They were staring at her.

"Uh-oh," she thought immediately.

"SEE?" Percy yelled.

"Oh crap," Annabeth exclaimed. "I see where this is going. Very funny, guys."

suddenly her phone rang. Annabeth narrowed her eyes. The guys were smiling innocently up at her. She checked the caller ID. It was Reyna. She picked up.

The sound that met her ears was like a clap of thunder. A series of the most disturbing, agonized moos she had ever heard exploded from the cell phone. It sounded like a cow giving birth.

Annabeth, dumbfounded, stared at her phone in complete bewilderment. Before she could even blink Percy had grabbed her and she was sitting on the couch sandwiched between Leo and Percy. Her phone was still mooing loudly.

"How was class?"Percy asked innocently, smiling cheerfully, completely ignoring her phone. Annabeth, startled, quickly hung up. "Oh, it was um, fine. What are you all doing here?"

"Coffee dahling," Leo drawled in falsetto.

"Very funny," she sighed. "You got Reyna in on this, right?"

"It is distracting," Jason said, still staring at her.

"Okay, ignore me," Annabeth mumbled. "I have stuff to do, guys. This was clever and all, but-"

she shrieked as a bucket of ice water crashed down over her heard. Percy, Leo and Jason howled with laughter."YOU GUYS!" Annabeth shouted, leaping to her feet. Water dripped off her clothed and still spiraled in an icy stream from the previously full sink. She narrowed her eyes at Percy. "I didn't do that to you!"

Her phone rang again. Both she and Leo lunged for it. Leo was faster.

"Hello, this is Cal from the Adult Fun Superstore! How may I help you?" He said chirpily.

"Annabeth?" came a boy's incredulous voice. Annabeth shrieked and lunged for her phone, tackling Leo and wrestling the phone from his grasp. "That is my cousin!" she hissed, grabbing her device as she dripped ice water all over Leo, pinning him to the couch. "Magnus!" she yelled into the phonre. "Oh my gods I am so sorry. That was my bonehead of a friend, Leo."

Magnus started laughing to the point of tears. The doorbell rang. Shooting a glare at her guy friends, Annabeth got up and stalked towards the door.

"I need to meet this guy," Magnus laughed in her ear.

"You'll regret it," she said sourly, hiding a smile as she opened the door.

Hazel stood there looking panicked. "ANNABETH!" she screamed. "COME WITH ME!" She grabbed Annabeth's arm and took off. Annabeth yelped. "Got to go," she cried into the phone. "I'll call you back."

She managed to pocket her phone, realizing her jeans were still soaking. She was soaking. She was vaguely aware of of the guys piling out of the apartment behind her. Before she could react, she was squinting into bright sunshine.

"Hazel, what-" she began, and then her vision focused. Her mouth dropped open. She started to laugh. She laughed to the point of crying, doubled over on the steps of her apartment. Percy came up behind her and had to prop her up.

There in the piazza was Frank as a magical unicorn cow, proudly mounted by Nico DiAngelo, bedecked in pink and purple glitter, flanked by two dozen skeletons dancing gangam style and throwing weapons at each other.


	4. The Great Skeleton-

"Tell me," Annabeth said, "about the Great Skeleton Dance Party of Freshman Year."

It was that night. After Annabeth had recovered, a grumpy Nico had washed the glitter Leo forced him into off of him, and Frank turned back into a human, everyone had gone back to Percy and Annabeth's apartment, still shaking with laughter. Now, the lights were low, they'd killed a full bottle of wine, and empty pizza boxes were stacked on the counter. Things were clearly getting deep here.

'Weren't you there?" Nico asked, clearly exasperated.

"No, she was-where was she?" Percy snapped his fingers. "She was in Boston visiting Magnus! Okay that makes sense now."

"I missed it. I never heard the story," Annabeth exclaimed. There was a loud outcry of laughter and disbelief. "Tell me!" She insisted.

 **10 Reviews if you want to hear about the Great Skeleton Dance Party of Freshman Year. It involves dubstep** **!**


	5. Teaser

The Great Skeleton Dance Party coming 12/21/15

Get ready to twerk


	6. I fully lied here's your chapter :)

I know y'all probably hate me by now. I'd like to apologize for being the worst updater EVER!This fic fell of my radar-and then I checked fanfiction and found almost twenty reviews begging for an update! You guys rock! So here is the much anticipated Great Skeleton Dance Party of Freshman Year.

It wasn't everyone's freshman year. It would've been Hazel's first year of high school, had she not been in the legion, but it was Percy and Annabeth's freshman year of college-a weird reminder of the forgettable age differences between the friends. Annabeth spent the summer in a busy state of near-panic, travelling between San Francisco, New York, New Rome and Boston over the summer. She had to pack up stuff from San Francisco and from camp and ship it to New Rome, visit Magnus, and still find time to enjoy her last full summer at camp. Needless to say, she was busy. For the most part, Percy travelled with her, but this particular weekend he needed to stay at camp and pack.

It was late August, near the end of the summer session, when Piper found herself staring at the soaked remains of Nico di Angelo's cabin.

"I'm so so sorry," Percy was saying for the umpteenth time.

"You flooded my cabin," Nico growled.

"I know," Percy mumbled sheepishly.

"Again."

"I know! I'm sorry!"

The "again" part was the problem. Earlier in the summer, Percy had broken the fountain in the back of his cabin. The water flowed in a constant stream from the decapitated spout, and Percy kept the water suspended in an increasingly gigantic bubble while he went to find Leo to fix it. The problem was, the uncharacteristically strong wind carried the enormous sphere of water right into Nico's cabin, where it exploded in a torrent of white water. It completely trashed the Hades cabin. Thankfully, neither Nico or Hazel was there-they were in New Rome. The Hades cabin still had to be rebuilt, but it was admittedly an excellent opportunity to redesign it.

Unfortunately it was Hades Cabin 2.0 that Percy flooded a second time.

"You really do have the worst luck," Jason said in amazement. Leo was laughing to the point of tears. Hazel was shooting Percy daggers with her eyes, and Frank seemed astonished by the wreckage. Piper was just shaking her head. "Annabeth's gonna love this one," she mumbled, laughing a little herself.

"I really am sorry," Percy said sheepishly.

"How did this even happen?" Nico exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the wreckage.

"Wave," Percy said vaguely, distraught. "Wind. Tree. Harpy."

"Never mind," Nico said, exasperated. "Just-leave me alone and try not to break anything."

Percy was miserable all the way until campfire, which he spent apologizing so profusely that Nico finally snapped, "Give yourself a break, Jackson, and forget about it." Still, Percy went to sleep uneasy with guilt and surprised that Nico-who held a grudge like no one else-had forgiven him so quickly.

He awoke to what sounded like the end of the world.

His entire cabin was vibrating like it was strapped to a purring cat. A sound so loud and so unidentifiable it drove him nuts pounded through the air at an octave usually reserved for calling dogs. Percy howled, clapping his hands over his ears and falling out of bed and face-first onto the floor with a crash. Something pounded at his roof. He scrambled, trailing blankets, to the door and literally tumbled down the steps of his cabin. All over the clearing lights flicked on in the cabins. Campers streamed onto the green, shouting into the night. Percy had never been so bewildered-and that was saying something. Disoriented, he turned back to face his cabin, and his mouth dropped open.

Seventeen buck-naked skeletons were twerking on his roof to the loudest, screechiest, heavy-metal-est dusbstep he had ever heard. Pink glitter danced through the air as the skeletons whipped and nae-naed for all the moon, stars and camp to see. Nico di Angelo sat in the green in front of Percy's cabin, shrieking and rolling around with laughter so intense he was crying. Percy stared uncomprehendingly at his roof while all around him campers broke into laughter not only at his cabin but at Nico-and Percy's Power Ranger pajama pants, which were the only thing he had on.

Percy stared at his cabin, then at Nico, then back at his cabin.

Then he laughed so hard he ached for a week.


	7. Purple Demigods R Us

"I," Annabeth announced, "am officially hating ADHD."

"Uh," Percy said, looking up. "Random."

"Hence the ADHD," she mumbled darkly, tapping her pencil against her leg. "Why are you purple? Are you supposed to be purple?"

Percy gave her a weird, decidedly violet look. "Um, no, I'm not supposed to be purple."

"Well, you are!" She yelled, exasperated. Percy sat up and stared at her. They were lying in bed at ten pm on a random Thursday, three weeks since the spurt of fierce pranking. That had been in early May-now it was almost June, they had finally graduated, and they were going to get married the next month. The wedding, which had been hovering hazily in the near future, was now suddenly upon them after Sally had put her foot down and insisted they set a date. Everything had fallen into place and here they were.

"Purple," Annabeth mumbled, distracted. She was fully dressed, a clipboard and pencil in hand, but her hair was in a bun hanging messily off the side of her head and she was totally agitated. Percy was sitting next to her, under the covers, trying to nail down the guest list-which was usually her job. Annabeth had tackled the wedding with a vengeance, flanked by her trio of best friends and an enthusiastic excitement. Tonight was a different matter.

"Annabeth, how much cold medicine did you take?" Percy asked, incredulously.

"Three," she said vaguely.

"Three what?"

"Big Three," she exclaimed. "Number of demigods safe to take on a quest. Sign of . Third. Aliquot sum of four. Number of sides in a triangle. Fourth Fibonacci sequence."

"Okay," Percy said nervously, swinging out of bed, "how much did you take?"

"What I usually take," she said indignantly. "Two tablets of Xanathin and a glass of water."

Percy frowned. That _was_ what she normally took. Xanathin was demigod safe-it wasn't supposed to have any weird side effects for them (unlike Tylenol, which was another story), and it never had before. So why was Annabeth acting crazy?

Percy stood over her, examining her. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked like she'd gotten some sun-she practically glowed. She'd been radiating pre-wedding nerves lately, but they were both happy. He'd never seen her like this.

She flung her arms wide. "Barney!" she cried ecstatically.

"What in Hades-"

She jumped up excitedly. "Red and blue make purple," she exclaimed eagerly. "Purple makes Barney!"

Percy was completely bewildered. She'd been feeling under the weather lately, had taken meds sometime earlier. He'd come home from a night with the guys to find her sitting on top of the covers in her current state, working furiously on what he'd assumed were wedding plans. It turned out to be mad scribbles in Ancient Greek, the kind of simple recitations she'd taught _him_ with years before. Now he was really concerned.

"Annabeth, are you okay?" He asked anxiously, putting his hands on her shoulders. She nodded good-naturedly. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, holding up four.

"Four," she said indignantly.

"And my full name is?"

"Perseus."

"And your dad lives in?"

"San Francisco. Percy, you need a haircut," she exclaimed. "Let me do it." She dashed away to the dresser and pulled out a pair of kid's scissors. She looked up at him so innocently he almost laughed. She seemed to be pretty sound, mentally-just really hyper, maybe a little disoriented.

"No thanks, Wise Girl," he said, smiling a little, but hoping the meds wore off soon. It was weird to see her like this.

"FRODO!" she yelled suddenly, and bolted out of the room and into the hall, flicking on light switches as she went. "THEY'RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD!"

"What?" Percy cried, chasing after her. Cancel his last. "Annabeth, what-"

He rounded the corner. She stood on the couch, waving around her copy of _The Two Towers_. "Tolkien," she said wildly, "should've been made a god!"

"The god of what?" he asked, starting to search for the pill bottle. Anything to keep her talking.

"Middle Earth." She dashed over to him and grinned at him over the counter. "You're very nice looking."

He grinned at that; she'd yet to tell a lie under the influence of what was probably a weird batch of Xanathin. She was herself, but-different. "Wise Girl, where'd you put the meds?"

"Here," she said promptly, opening the cereal cupboard. He decided not to comment on that. He took down the bottle and tried to make sense of the tiny words.

"Fasting affects-past-last! Lasting effects," he read, mumbling. He squinted. "Four hours. Annabeth, when did you take this?" He looked up. She was busily unraveling the throw blanket tossed over the couch. "Seven," she said, happily. It was already nearly eleven.

"Good news," he announced. "This should wear off any time now."

"Spring," she said randomly. "When a young telkhine's fancy turns to love."

"Ookay," he said, alarmed. "That's great. How about you go to bed, maybe sleep this off?"

"Can't sleep," she said, suddenly irritated. What was with the mood swings? Was that a possible side effect? He went back to trying to decipher the lettering on the bottle.

"How come? Nightmares?"

"No," she sighed, flopping back on the couch, dropping the strands of knit blanket.

He didn't ask. "Here we go, Wise Girl. Side effects."

Annabeth started, then looked at the loose yarn in her lap. "Seaweed Brain, didn't I tell you not to unravel this?"

"I didn't," he said, confused. She looked up at him with dawning clarity in her grey eyes. "Dear gods," he laughed. "You're not going to remember any of this, huh?"

"Any of what?" She padded over to him in bare feet, rubbing her temples.

"Here we go," Percy exclaimed. "Possible side effects… short term memory loss, mood swings, hyperactivity-I can barely read this. I wish they printed Xanathin bottles in Ancient Greek."

"I'm so confused," she mumbled, and went to the fridge for a glass of water. "Xanathin's never given me problems before. I can't remember the last four hours."

"Try forgetting eight or nine months," he put in, still trying to read.

She flinched, then looked at him sharply. "What?" he asked, absently. She shook her head as if to clear it. "Nothing," she mumbled. "You just-hit a bit of a sore spot."

That didn't make much sense to him, given how easily they joked about the amnesia now that it was so far behind them. "It says here that you would only experience side effects if…let's see…" He started to read. "If you took any other meds simultaneously."

"Nope," she said uncertainly, coming to stand across from him. "Not that I remember. Xanathin's the only one around."

"Okay. Well, did you accidentally take more than two?"

"No," she said decisively, tapping her fingers on the countertop absently.

Percy sighed and set down the bottle. "Well, the only other reason for it would be if you were pregnant, so that rules that ou- "He stopped abruptly. She was staring at him with wide eyes, looking like she'd been hit by one of Jason's lightning bolts.

"You're not," he gasped, hoarsely.

She bit her lip, a smile shining in her eyes. "Well, I was going to tell you this week. I found out just a couple of days ago."

Percy stared, dumbfounded.

"Percy?" She asked, uncertainly. "I know it's early, but we're getting married, we're done school, have experience as a couple-I think we're set to have kids, really." Still he said nothing, just stared, stock-still. "Percy?" she asked, nervously. "You all right?"

In answer, he stepped forward and planted a kiss on her lips that would've made even the most experienced girl swoon.


	8. Yeah, about the wine tasting

**HEY AMAZING TRAVELLERS OF THE INTERWEBS! Thank you so much for the reviews! I've been getting a lot of comments about people being confused about the story. That's okay! It's farcical comedy, it's not meant to make much sense. If you have any specific questions, send them to me via review or PM and I will reply just as soon as humanly possible. And yes, this is quickly moving into a longer story, so if you have any ideas or random objects or song titles you want to send me I will probably use them. Enjoy the next chapter and Merry Christmas!**

"I am drowning in tulle," Leo yelled behind them. "Literally dying."

"You're asphyxiating, not drowning," Piper said dismissively from the pavilion three steps ahead of him.

"What?"

"Suffocating," she yelled. "SUFFOCATING!"

"I can't hear you, I'm drowning in tulle!"

"Okay, now he's provoking me," Piper mumbled, stomping down the three steps to the garden level.

"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked in amusement, leaning on the rail encircling the gazebo-like pavilion. New Rome sprawled below them, the gardens of Bacchus around them.

"LEO," Piper howled, coming right up next to him, "DROP THE TULLE AND GANGAM STYLE!"

Leo obeyed, dropping the mountain of white tulle and immediately starting to dance, eyes blank. Piper whipped out a phone and started filming. "Got it," she said triumphantly. "This is being played at the reception."

"No," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

Piper sighed. "Fine. Leo, you can stop dancing."

Leo stopped and glared indignantly. "No fair, Beauty Queen. Give me the footage."

"No," she grinned.

"Piper McLean! Gimme!" he lunged for the cell phone, but Piper was too fast for him, even in heels. They were trying out bridesmaid footwear. The dresses were floor length, so it'd be good to get an inch between the hem and the floor, but then there was the debate of whether or not it was more practical to put the girls in flats and have them hitch up the dress every now and then. So far, Piper was pretty good in heels, but that may have been the Aphrodite genes talking.

It was two weeks from the wedding, and the final details were falling into place. It had taken a lot of negotiations to decide not only on a location but the guest list. Percy and Annabeth's families, on the mortal side, anyway, were not allowed at camp or in New Rome. However, they couldn't have a ceremony with a guest list comprised of 95% demigods anywhere else. Camp Half-Blood turned out to be the least flexible option, so New Rome became the location, with Terminues being given a day off for the ceremony. The magical borders would be altered to allow mortals, Norse cousins and even Egyptian magicians in, and the demigod guard around the city doubled, courtesy of the praetors. That was another problem-both praetors were not only on the guest list but in the actual wedding, so who would run Camp Jupiter for the day? The centurions of the First and Fifth cohorts were in the running to take over for 24 hours, with as much adult supervision as humanly possible.

New Rome offered many beautiful wedding locations, but in the end they chose the central pavilion in the gardens. It was made of white marble and it was big enough to fit in two 7x8 rows of chairs on either side of a four-foot aisle. Annabeth had measured it, in a moment of OCD, to the last inch. The pavilion, with it's high, vaulted ceiling, circular shape, and silvery marble, was beautiful. Piper had agreed to decorate the wedding, and with the combination of her own sensibility and Aphrodite genes, it was shaping up to be a classically beautiful ceremony. The reception was to be held under an enormous white tent set up in the field adjacent to the gardens-but that was another matter entirely.

Piper and Annabeth needed a trial run for the spare, elegant amounts of tulle to be wound around the railing, but the guys had tuxedo fittings. Leo, who had finished being measured early, was recruited to haul 35 feet of tulle up to the gardens.

"It's so gorgeous," Annabeth sighed, looking out over the city. She was three weeks pregnant and not a soul knew about it, other than her and Percy. That was going to be a problem on the wedding night-Romans knew how to do wine at receptions, but she couldn't drink (or take Xanathin, as it turned out. She should've checked the bottle).

Her cell phone rang as Piper and Leo struggled up the steps under the mountainous cloud of tulle. "This will barely circle the pavilion," Piper grumbled. "Exactly how fluffy is this stuff?"

Annabeth glanced at her phone and picked up with a roll of her eyes. "Percy, you don't need to call me every hour," she said in a low voice, turning her back on her friends. Piper and Leo started to drape the fabric over the railings.

"I can't help worrying," came the reply. "Shouldn't you be like, lying down or something?"

"My own ADHD would kill me."

"ADHD." She could hear the grin in his voice. "Purple. Tolkien."

"Enough!" She cried, laughing. "In don't even remember it."

"Remember what?" Piper asked suspiciously, suddenly right next to her. Annabeth yelped. "Gotta go," she said, and hung up.

"Hi," she squeaked at Piper, who was arching an eyebrow at her, hands on hips. "Hi," Piper said suspiciously. "Are you okay? Percy's been calling you like, every hour on the hour."

"Valdez in pain," came a muffled voice. Leo was on the floor, buried in tulle. Both girls ignored him.

"Fine," Annabeth said, avoiding Piper's eyes. She hated lying to her best friend.

"Annabeth, should I be worried?" Piper's voice was low, her eyes concerned. "You're acting really weird-like, hormonal. It might be rude to ask, but-are you PMSing?"

"No," Annabeth exclaimed without thinking. "Definitely not."

"When are we wine tasting?" Leo said breathlessly, appearing, wrapped in fabric, next to them. "That's gotta be preferable to this, just sayin'."

" _You_ ," Piper informed him, "are not wine tasting. You're just the manual labour. Please go drape." She smiled prettily at him. He glared, but rustled off. Those two were practically siblings at this point.

"Actually, can you go alone?" Annabeth looked apologetic. "Something came up."

"Something more important than your own wedding?" Piper exclaimed. "I'm not wedding obsessed, but even I care about the alcohol at this thing."

"Maybe we could open bar it," Annabeth asked timidly.

"That's really expensive. Why aren't you tasting?" Piper's tone was confused and worried. "Are you, like, not drinking?" Suddenly her eyes grew wide and she yelled, without thinking, "OMIGODS YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

"SHUSH," Annabeth yelled, clapping a hand over Piper's mouth and glancing furtively at Leo, who was thankfully oblivious. "We're not telling anyone yet!"

Piper's eyes were huge. "You're pregnant," she hissed in a whisper. "Aren't you? No. Not really. Are you? Omigods!"

"Maybe," Annabeth mumbled, blushing.

"YOU'RE JOKING!" Piper's hands were flying a mile a minute. "How did this-I mean when-I didn't even know you were, well, you know…"

"We weren't."

"Annabeth, that's physically impossible. Omigods. Wow. I kind of thought you of all people would be prepared enough to avoid this kind of thing, if you know what I mean."

"Well, you're right. We weren't sleeping together. But then we did, and it caught me off guard."

"Wow." Piper stopped pacing, her eyes alight. "This is…this is so unexpected. But this is good, right?"

"This is really good," Annabeth confirmed. "But, Piper, you can tell NO ONE. Not Jason. No one."

"Okay, okay. Trying to keep it under wraps?"

"Until after the honeymoon, at least."

"People are going to do the math."

"Yeah, I figured. No need to be scandalous now, though." She shrugged. "Maybe I'll be lucky and have the baby two weeks late and pass it off as two weeks early."

"I think you're going to want that baby out of you as soon as possible," Piper said drily, still in a low voice, watching Leo warily.

"I don't think it matters," Annabeth exclaimed. "I mean, for Zeus' sake, they let us go on life-threatening quests. They can hardly tell us we're not allowed to sleep together. I mean, you and Jason do, right?"

"I don't kiss and tell." Piper grinned wickedly.

"Like Hades you don't," Annabeth laughed.

"So that's why Percy is calling you."

"Yes."

"And why you're not drinking."

"Yep. You put that together really fast, by the way."

"Aphrodite genes."

"That's reassuring," Annabeth mumbled.

Piper grinned. "So? How are you feeling?"

"Pretty excited," Annabeth admitted, smiling. "A little nauseous at times. Mostly tired, achey, etc."

"Omigods, the dress!" Piper yelled out of nowhere. "Is it going to fit?"

"I'll be four weeks pregnant," Annabeth said drily. "If I'm lucky I won't show until at least twelve weeks. The dress will be fine."

"It's just-such a nice dress," Piper said, indulging in her mother's side of her DNA. "Very classic, very timeless, very you, you know?"

"Of course I do," Annabeth said, clearly amused by how out of character Piper was acting. Any minute now she would start ranting in French.

"I'm just so excited for you!" her best friend whisper squealed. "I feel so old. I can't believe I have friends old enough to not only get married but start a family."

"To put it in perspective, Percy and I have been dating for basically ten years," Annabeth pointed out. "We're long overdue to get married. In Ancient Greek terms I'm well past the threshold of being an old maid. And we fully intended to have kids, by the way."

"I knew that," Piper assured her. She smiled at the ring on her left hand. "Next year, it's my turn, huh?"

"Yep." Annabeth grinned. "I'll either be extremely pregnant or a mom."

"Weird."

"You're telling me!"

They lapsed into comfortable silence. Piper put an arm around her best friend as they gazed out on New Rome.

"You're getting married," she whispered happily.

"So are you," Ananbeth said back, grinning softly.

They watched the sun light up the city.

 **A more serious chapter for you! The wedding will be next and it will be serious with funny moments, I think. It's hard to formulate a story that's 100% comedy, so if you have anything that you think would be funny, let me know. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!**


	9. Attack of the Flaming Tulle

**Well. Welcome, 2016, year of The Trials of Apollo! The wedding has taken me days, being so long and detailed, and there are some definitely funny moments and a little bit of Kane Chronicles/Magnus Chase crossovers moments, too. Don't know how many parts it will be, but here's the first bit. Thank you for the followers and reviews! Keep sending me ideas! So far I'm thinking of using each and every one that's been sent to me so yours has a good chance of making an appearance. Ta-ta, dahlings!**

Things went wrong almost right away.

That was typical demigod, though, and they were prepared. Piper was running around with a clipboard, checking things off lists. Hazel was overseeing set up. Reyna was in charge of making sure the borders and Camp Jupiter were intact. Frank was manual labour, setting up chairs, and doubly ensuring the safety of the legion while keeping everyone on schedule. Leo was being as underfoot as humanly possible, having set up for his fireworks later and having consumed waaay too much sugar. Nico and Jason were on welcome duty.

"I don't know why they want me here," Nico grumbled. "Everyone thinks I'm scary, anyway."

"Hazel doesn't think you're scary," Jason offered.

"Hazel's related to me," Nico pointed out. "Doesn't count."

They stood where the entrance to the tunnel led to the crossing over the Little Tiber. It was currently nine in the morning. Jason had seen both the bride and groom earlier, Percy having shown up at Jason's apartment at four am acting like a kid on Christmas morning. After lapping the city twice in an effort to wear his best friend out, Jason had sent Percy back home, and Piper had informed him via IM (they were all IMing each other like crazy this morning) that Percy has slept until eight and then gone to help move chairs. Annabeth was going about her usual morning routine, and Jason had run into her on her usual walk. She was positively glowing. It was kind of cute-in a platonic, puppy dog way.

All out of town guests were to check into New Rome's hotel by noon at the latest. The Jackson-Blofises had arrived the night before. The hotel was one of the city's newer additions, built after visitors from Camp Half-Blood started showing up. Big, luxurious, and five minutes from the pavilion, the hotel was the perfect place for out-of-town guests to stay. Piper had booked a room for the day for the girls to get ready in. The guys would get dressed in Jason's apartment. Legionnaires were posted around the tunnel to direct and security check visitors. It was a beautiful day, the summer air sweet and warm, the sky blue and cloudless.

Jason knew instantly something was bound to go wrong.

At first everything was fine. A steady stream of guests arrived. Annabeth's family were among the first, and would've stayed overnight the night before had they not lived so close by. Jason thought they were pretty nice. Annabeth's step mother was beaming, herding the fourteen-year-old twins—who were gawking and yelling—along, arm in arm with Frederick Chase, thoroughly frazzled and extremely fascinated. After that come a whole slew of camp people—Grover Underwood, who was one of the best men, unfortunately alone, since Juniper couldn't stray far from her tree. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, currently clad in paint-smeared clothes as per usual, planning to change later. Chiron, looking very pleased with himself, having kept not one but two trainees long enough to get married. Will Solace from the Apollo cabin and a couple of his siblings (Nico turned the colour of a beet, given the still-unresolved history between himself and Will), Lacey and a couple of nicer friends from Aphrodite, Malcolm and most of the Athena cabin, Tyson (very excited), the Stoll brothers, Katie Gardener, Clarisse and Chris Rodriguez, Lou Ellen from Hecate, and a host of others all arrive in due course.

The trouble started around eleven am, coincidentally around the time Jason was checking the Kanes in.

(Like demigods ever has coincidences).

Sadie was wearing a simple sleeveless white dress, her amulet, combat boots, and a cotton-that-looked-like-leather jacket. Carter was shifting nervously next to her, his satchel over one shoulder, in a cotton dress shirt and pants. Jason knew them instantly from a photo in Percy and Annabeth's living room. The Kanes and Jason's friends had started hanging out a couple of times a month way back before they'd even started college. He knew Carter was the more level headed one, while Sadie was probably rivalled in insanity only by Leo, and that was saying something.

"Hi," she said by way of introduction. "Are you meant to have a very large monster lurking by the entrance of your tunnel?"

Nico swore. "What kind of monster?"

"Looks like some form of dragon," Carter put in. "Only smaller. And furrier."

Nico looked at Jason. "Drakon?"

Jason shook his head. "Those are massive. Also, not furry."

"I can go take a hit at it," Sadie offered enthusiastically. "I love pummelling beasties."

"No," Carter and Jason said simultaneously, just as Annabeth came tearing up to them. Her hair was already halfway styled.

"Has Magnus gotten here yet?" She asked breathlessly, near-panicked.

"Uh," Jason stammered. "No."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "My father cannot see him," she exclaimed vehemently.

"Isn't he, like, your dad's nephew?" Carter asked.

Annabeth nodded, then started, seeming to just notice him. "Carter! Sadie! Hi!" She gave them each a rapid-fire hug. "Glad you're here. Listen, someone needs to call Hazel and tell her my dad cannot see Magnus looking like Magnus."

"Why not?" Sadie asked with interest.

"He thinks Magnus is dead."

"He _is_ dead," all four of them chorused, particularly Nico. It was a bit of a sore spot for him, actually (long story).

"You guys only know _about_ Magnus because you don't _know_ Magnus," Annabeth said. "My dad does, so knowing about Magnus' danger would put _him_ in danger, like knowing about me, I guess. Look, can someone go and get Hazel?"

"There's still a monster out there," Carter pointed out.

Annabeth swore.

"Look," Jason said, taking charge. "I'll go get Hazel. Nico and Sadie will go deal with—whatever the thing is. Annabeth, you go back to getting ready. I'm sure Piper's having a coronary by now."

"What about me?" Carter asked readily.

"You check people in." Before Carter could protest, Jason shoved the clipboard at him. "C'mon, Annabeth, let's go."

"We'll be back," Sadie said cheerfully, pulling out her magic wand. "I hope this works. Lot of gods at play here."

"You and me both," Nico mumbled, as they ran back into the tunnel.

"But I-" Carter began, only to find himself alone. "No one mind me," he mumbled. "I'll just wait here. Alone. In a strange city. Checking in people I don't know. Yup. Sounds like a great idea."

"GANGWAY!" Leo Valdez bellowed, and sprinted past, trailing a cape of flaming tulle. "I HATE THIS STUFF!"

"LEO, QUIT PLAYING AROUND AND GET BACK HERE!" The voice was a guy's, but it was a cheetah (a.k.a. the recently transformed Frank Zhang) that streaked past, also partially on fire. Carter watched them go. New Rome was even weirder than the First Nome.

Carter only had to check in two people—somebody named Thalia Grace, who looked like she could beat him up but was on the guest list, and a demigod from Camp Half-Blood. By then it was almost noon. Jason appeared, looking like, flanked by a pretty, small girl with golden eyes. Hazel's hair was already styled, despite the fact there was four whole hours to go before the ceremony, but she'd had to do _something_ in advance.

No sooner had they showed up then Nico and Sadie appeared, breathless and caked in monster dust, debating the origin of the still-unnamed "beastie". Jason took the guest list back over. Carter told him about the cheetah, the flaming tulle, the punk girl he'd checked in, the screaming boy, and the other demigod he's allowed in. Jason seemed un-phased by it all and politely directed them to their hotel.

Last to arrive were Magnus and Sam, who'd agreed to be his plus-one. Sam and Annabeth had met years earlier and completely hit it off. It would also take all of Sam's considerable strength to wrestle Magnus into a suit. Her family thought she was on one of her many sporadic "business trips".

"Are you Magnus?" Hazel asked, too frazzled for manners.

"Uh, yeah," Magnus said. Hazel examined him, clicked her tongue, then nodded. "That'll do."

Sam yelped. "What?" Magnus exclaimed. "Do I still have twigs in my hair or something?"

"You have dark hair," Sam exclaimed. "And brown eyes."

Hazel grinned. "Convincing, huh? It's just a trick of the Mist. He'll be back to normal soon enough—hopefully long after Annabeth's dad has left."

Magnus face-palmed. "I knew we forgot something. He thinks I'm dead."

Hazel shrugged. "You are dead. You smell very, very weird, by the way." She flushed. "That came out wrong. I'm a daughter of Pluto. I can sense and, well, smell stuff like that."

"I'll roll with that," Magnus said easily. Sam grinned, yanking him forwards. "Come on, I want to see the city while I have a chance."

By noon, all the travelling guests were checked in, and crunch time was upon them.


	10. Blue frosting doesn't stain, does it?

**Here's part two of the wedding, of a MAXIMUM of four** **. I know I've forgotten Calypso in recent chapters, but she IS around and WILL make an appearance this chapter. I Just thought I'd address that before the story went much further. Enjoy!**

Piper started yelling at him in French the instant she opened the door.

Jason has only come to drop off lunch in the hotel room. It was one, and everything having been set up, he was off to get ready. Piper looked even more dazzling than usual with her hair curled, but also frazzled.

"Pipes?" Jason offered tentatively. "You're, uh, speaking French."

She smacked her forehead. "Oh, gods, sorry. Thanks." She grabbed the take out bag. "Is everything okay? Has someone done the burnt offerings? We really don't need any Olympian trouble. It's why they're all watching from far away. On Olympus. Not here." She rubbed her temples.

"Everything," he assured her, "is fantastic."

Her eyes widened. "Schist! Stay here!" She disappeared and returned with a bunch of denarii. "Sparkling apple juice."

"What?"

"We need sparkling apple juice," she said. "Anything that can be passed off as champagne. Don't ask questions. Blue food colouring. And cream cheese cake frosting, stat."

"Uh."

"Don't ask. Just do. I love you." She kissed his cheek. "I promise to keep our wedding as small as humanly possible, okay? I really need this stuff."

"I'll be back in twenty minutes," he promised, grinning.

"You are an absolute saint." She kissed him on the mouth this time, and he saw fireworks. "Love you."

She closed the door.

"All right," she announced. "Lunch."

"I am STARVING," Annabeth exclaimed.

"Nerves?" Reyna was currently organizing baskets of sparklers, having nowhere else to sit and do so. Her hair was swept up in an obsidian, goddess-style ponytail. She smiled, eyes sparkling.

"Probably," Annabeth admitted, sharing a significant look with Piper and stabbing a fork into a dish of spaghetti, New Rome had some excellent places for Italian food.

"I have a solution to the alcohol problem, by the way," Piper said under her breath.

"Oh, thank the gods." Annabeth sighed in relief. "You're the best, Pipes."

"I try," Piper grinned.

By three everyone was dressed, the food was gone, Piper had stashed the sparkling apple juice under Annabeth's chair in the reception tent (which looked fantastic), and they were on track for a prompt four o' clock start. The bridesmaids were all in the turquoise of the turquoise-and-silver wedding theme, floor-length simple halter dresses that were truly stunning in their simplicity, and varying degrees of silver jewellery. In the end, all of them were in silver flats, after Piper had fallen not up but down the stairs of the pavilion in her heels. Annabeth looked breathtaking, the dress fit without a hitch, and they were set to go.

In keeping tradition, there was something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue. Annabeth wore her tiny owl earrings for old, her dress for new, Piper's silver heels as something borrowed, and for something blue, Piper had dyed the cream cheese frosting blue and they'd all had a massive spoonful of it, laughing as frosting got everywhere.

"To the future Mrs. Jackson," Hazel laughed, lifting her spoon of cake frosting.

"To the future Mrs. Jackson," they chorused, giggling like schoolgirls. There was a picture of that moment that was eventually framed and hung in Annabeth's study; all of them in finery with napkins tucked in the necklines of their gowns for safety, frosting smeared on noses and lips, laughing like crazy.

They were ready.

In light of all the fuss, the wedding was actually a pretty casual affair.

The hour before the ceremony transgressed into one big party. People milled around in the gardens. There were two tables set up in front of the pavilion, bearing the guest book, several bowls of blue candy, a blue cooler full of cold drinks, and a large number of pamphlets that read "SO YOU'RE GOING TO SIT THROUGH A WEDDING". There was a funny picture of Percy and Annabeth where Percy was holding Annabeth, kicking and screaming with laughter, out over the waves at Montauk, threatening to drop her. Sally was very proud of that picture.

The groomsmen mingled freely among the guests. Sadie, despite being taken, flirted shamelessly with Frank, which made him deeply uncomfortable. Rachel Dare was deep in debate with one of the mnay Roman guest over the Cubism period of the 1920s. Magnus and Sam were debating how wedding vows in Valhalla worked—was it "as long as we both shall live" or "until Ragnorok do us part"? Sally went around beaming on Percy's arm. Percy probably should've been hiding out somewhere, but hey, it was his party. Calypso, who had been helping out all morning, continually straightened Leo's tie and made sure everything ran smoothly. She'd been offered a place as bridesmaid but instead decided to tie up all the loose ends of the wedding and run things in Piper's absence.

The pavilion looked beautiful. Strung with tasteful amounts with tulle sparkling with the occasional turquoise bead, the railings looked amazing. The white marble veined with silver fit perfectly into the theme. The white-draped chairs were strung with silvery garlands of bright, turquoise flowers. The arch was framed in turquoise, silver, and white, the aisle scattered with flower petals and the faint shimmering dust that seemed to have settled over everything. Everything was colour coordinated—even the cooler bore a big turquoise bow and the bowls holding the candy were silver. Hazel had gone through the place earlier, running her hands over the marble to bring all the veins of silver to the surface, and the flower bushes near the pavilion were pruned within an inch of their lives. Music that was so easy to listen to it faded seamlessly into the background floated from some unknown source—or maybe the Bluetooth speakers Leo had stashed in the bushes.

Thankfully, there were no more flaming cheetah incidents, no tulle was set ablaze, no monsters came swooping down from the sky, nobody transmogrified into a horse, no skeletons burst, twerking wildly, onto the scene; Frank kept everyone moving like clockwork, and Piper IM'd to say it was all good on the girls' end. Mr. Chase had already left to escort his daughter down the aisle. Up on Olympus, the wedding was being aired on Hephaestus-TV, to Aphrodite's loud sniffles, Ares' grunts, and Hera's begrudging eyes. The goddess of marriage had been positively showered with praise and burnt offerings. Poseidon and Athena had, on separate occasions, threatened to toss her into Tartarus if she disrupted the wedding. Both parents were watching now, Athena trying to hide her pride, Poseidon smiling.

Down below, people were being ushered to their seats. The boys took their places. There was a lot of groomsmen, in the end—Jason, Frank, and Leo, plus both Nico and Grover. Tyson had been offered a spot, but the Cyclops had opted against. He was currently sitting next to Ella the harpy in the row of family also occupied by Sally, Paul, Annabeth's stepmother (her relationship with whom had blossomed as she grew older), and her brothers, watching the whole thing with wide eyes. They'd had to be told the truth about things a while back, but Percy harboured a suspicion that they'd only just wrapped their minds around it.

He shifted from foot to foot, suddenly overcome with nerves. Not about Annabeth herself—gods, he'd never been so sure about anything in his life. Just about what he might do when he saw her. He really, really didn't want to do anything Seaweed Brained.

The music changed, and he couldn't for the life of him tell you what it was, despite the lively, joking arguments that had been had about it. And then his friends were walking towards him. They were all in turquoise, the fabric rippling like water. Reyna was first, looking even more impressive than usual, if that was impossible. She smirked at Percy as she passed, arching an eyebrow like "you're in for it now."

Despite himself, he grinned.

Next down was Hazel, slightly shy at first, until she laid eyes on Frank. Then she beamed so brilliantly the veins of silver under her feet practically glowed. Percy felt like hugging her. She looked like a cinnamon roll.

Finally, Piper came down the aisle, looking admittedly awesome. Percy nudged Jason into remembering how to breathe again. Piper made a face at Percy, knowing he couldn't make one back without looking stupid. He'd get her later. He shifted again, and looked up.

She was like she was something out of a dream.

She glowed, an aura of dusky silver that came not only from the sheen of her beautiful dress but the sheer happiness dancing in her eyes. Her gown was stunning. He hadn't known any of the vocabulary for it when she'd described it to him—cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline and an empire waist, whatever that meant. The dress fit her through to the legs were it flowed softly to the ground, resting there like the inverted petals of some flower. The waist was marked with a pure silver sash the exact sheen of the beads scattered so subtly over the dress that you didn't know they were there until they caught the light. Her hair was tucked softly back, artistically messy with curls around her face. Her veil was long, shimmery and trailing, flowing behind her. But it was her eyes—her sharp, beautiful, full eyes, those took his breath right out of his lungs. She made his world shrink down to just the two of them, turned into a place that was never-ending bliss.

And she was his.

Beaming, Percy took her hands. She'd handed her bouquet-white roses and sprigs of turquoise- off to Piper and kissed her father on the cheek. Percy had a vague recollection of promising Frederick Chase to take care of Annabeth (not that Annabeth needed taking care of), but he meant it, however obscure the memory became when he looked right into her eyes.

"Hey, Wise Girl," he whispered.

"Hello, Seaweed Brain," she whispered back, and smiled even more beautifully.

The main thing Percy remembered about the ceremony was Jason leaning over and whispering, ever so subtly, "if you cry I owe Leo twenty bucks", which made both him and Annabeth have to try, very, very hard not to laugh in front of all those people.

And then he got to kiss her, which was, you know, FANTASTIC.

And then, just like that, with a few words and a quick switch of rings he hardly noticed, they were married.

"Mrs. Jackson," he said, adoring the words.

"Mr. Jackson," she replied, running a hand along her veil and taking his arm. She smiled. "Together?"

"From now on to forever," he promised, and they took their first step into married life.


	11. Surprise! We're crashing your wedding!

Athena showed up just as Annabeth was pouring sparkling apple juice into her glass, which was particularly hard to explain.

Of course the gods didn't stay away. Of course. Annabeth quickly whipped the bottle behind her. Piper, in a very smooth move, swept by and picked it up all without seeming to notice Athena.

Thankfully, Annabeth reflected, her mother was not ten feet tall and glowing. She wore a long white dress and a silvery royal blue wrap, and she looked around her with grudging pleasure. Annabeth herself couldn't get over how beautiful her reception was, and couldn't help but feel happy her mother thought so, too.

Round tables draped in rich white tablecloths were scattered around under the massive tent. Big white chairs were pulled up to all of them, and in the center of each table was a vase bursting with silver beads and turquoise flowers. Twinkle lights were draped across the ceiling, washing the space in a warm glow. Pillars and end tables bearing candy and vases were scattered around the outskirt of the tent. At one end, the head table, raised two feet above the ground; at the other, the dance floor, where Leo was playing DJ. Buffet tables lined with drinks, magic plates, candy, and blue cupcakes spanned one side of the tent. Wine circled on platters held by invisible servants. It was still early, dinner having just finished; none of the speeches were done, dancing had yet to kick into high gear, and nothing had blown up yet (that was the biggest indicator of the hour). Dusk had fallen around the tent, and New Rome's lights twinkled in the distance, the stars in the vast field the tent had been pitched in shining like diamonds. Even on her wedding night, Annabeth had sent a silent hello to them, for Bob.

She was having an amazing time. Earlier Sally had come up to her and they'd just hugged each other until Percy sheepishly cut in. Sadie had informed Annabeth that she looked "spiffing." Annabeth had had a forty-minute catchup with Thalia, which was great, and then gotten into a very funny debate with, of all people, Rachel, Nico, and Magnus, over whether or not people who dyed their hair red were actually considered redheads. And through it all, the ecstatic, warm feeling in her chest that came from the lovely knowledge that she was Mrs. Jackson from now on to forever.

She'd also been kissing Percy to the point where Hazel had started fanning her face aggressively, so that helped.

In the vague interlude between dinner and speeches, Annabeth was standing at the head table, glimpsing the turquoise skirts of her bridesmaids through the crowd, and watching Jason smile at Piper like she was his whole world, when she decided she was thirsty. Under her chair, the handily unmarked bottle of apple juice. She poured into her champagne glass and was admiring how it looked extremely realistic when her mother showed up. Annabeth almost spilled juice all over her dress, which would've been very bad, since she had several hours in it to go.

"Mom," she choked. Percy appeared, trying hard, for his credit, not to look terrified.

"Annabeth," her mother returned. Annabeth could just picture her dad in the crowd, keeling over—if he was watching at all. Very few people were, thankfully.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth tried for a rephrase. "I mean—we didn't expect you."

Athena smiled. Annabeth relaxed a little. "Contrary to Percy's expression, I am not here to cause trouble." Annabeth whacked her husband as subtly as possible and sensed his mouth close. "I came to offer congratulations."

Annabeth's heart melted a little (hormones, she swore). "Really?" She asked, softly.

"I'm not a tyrant, Annabeth. It's rare that my children get a happy ending." Athena smiled,a little sadly, then looked at Percy. "I entrust to you, Perseus, the job of giving her one."

"Absolutely, ma'am," Percy said without faltering. Annabeth could've kissed him right there. "Mom," she said, hesitantly. "I still—I can't believe you're here. Do you want to stay, or…" She trailed off.

Athena just shook her head, smiling that same little smile. "You know as well as I do that you can't stay."

Then Athena did something very surprising. She gave Annabeth a truly wonderful hug. When she drew back, she looked at Percy severely. "Take care of her."

"I will," Percy promised, taking Annabeth's hand.

"And you had better name your daughter after me," Athena added, mischief sparkling in her storm-cloud eyes. And then she vanished.

"That was surreal," Annabeth said, dazed.

"Did she say daughter?" Percy's voice was strangled. Annabeth's fingers skimmed over her stomach. "She did. Huh."

Percy started mumbling about being outnumbered considerably when Piper whisked by. "Nobody exploded?" She asked.

"We're having a girl." Annabeth said, disconnected.

Piper blinked. Then she squealed and threw her arms around Annabeth. "Yes! I was so hoping you were!" She grinned at Percy. "You're going to be outnumbered."

"Holy Hades," Percy mumbled.

"We should start speeches." Piper grinned, linking arms with Annabeth. A photographer captured that moment, the two girls smiling, arms linked, leaning on each other slightly. "Sit down and eat cake."

Annabeth recovered considerably faster than Percy. There was a bunch of speeches, all of them short and sweet. Jason and Grover did a joined best-man speech. Grover quickly recapped the story of the lightning thief from his perspective—in which he was third-wheeling hard-core. Jason admitted that, yes, Percy probably could've killed him. "Cheers, bro," he said, toasting. Percy laughed and clapped Jason on the back as he came back up.

"When I first met Annabeth," Piper began her speech, "she scared the living daylights out of me."

"Me too!" Leo hollered from the back. Annabeth smirked at him.

Piper laughed. "Clearly, things have changed." She turned to Annabeth and raised her glass. "Annabeth, you are the best friend I could ask for. You're living proof of the opposites attract concept, you kick monster butt, and you have an amazing relationship. You're always there for me and I'm so thankful you made me part of your day. So here's to the best quest leader around. I promise to try to be a good a friend to you as you have been to me—to all of your little family, however much it may grow." And Piper winked, and toasted. "To Annabeth!"

And darn it, Annabeth was sniffling.

Parents talked next.

"Percy was never the easiest kid to raise," Sally admitted, "but he was the best. I thought no one would ever be good enough for my little boy. And then came Annabeth." She laughed. "Here was this girl, incredibly intelligent, fighting by his side through thick and thin. The two of you have never left each other. You have been through unimaginable terror together and came out stronger. I can't believe how lucky I am to mother a son who is perfectly matched. Welcome to the family, Annabeth."

Frederick Chase recounted how, despite everything, Annabeth had always come through, and had always- eventually—come back. And he loved her for it.

After that, the mic was opened up to pretty much everyone. All of the wedding party said a few words. Reyna's speech was probably best of them: "I honestly cannot believe we made this boy praetor. Clearly, we should've chosen Annabeth. I love you guys." Leo mentioned how, no matter how much junk he blew up, these guys didn't hate him—and that was pretty cool. Thalia got up and said a few words.

"I'm generally opposed to marriage," she admitted. "But having had the privilege of knowing Annabeth for fourteen years, and Percy for almost that long, I can tell you that they are exactly what a couple should be, weaponry and all. Percy, you annoy the heck out of me, but you're a great best friend to my little brother, and you complete _my_ best friend. Annabeth, even if you are getting married, I'll still love you like a sister. You're the best kick-butt warrior friends a girl could ask for. Cheers."

And on the speeches went—Rachel, Chiron, a host of others. Annabeth laughed, and cried, and was spectacularly happy.

After speeches, they cut the cake, and Annabeth promptly smashed a cupcake into Percy's nose. In return, he kissed her, getting frosting all over her face. They broke apart laughing.

They got half a song for their first official dance as a married couple, and that was how they liked it. Two minutes of slow dancing was enough for demigods. The party went on into the late hours of the morning. Most of the older adults—the parents, authority figures, etc.—left by eleven, with many kisses and hugs and good wishes, and left the younger people to party.

Annabeth was dancing, laughing, with her bridesmaids when she noticed Percy at the edge of the tent, talking earnestly with a man in a slightly more tasteful Bermuda shirt than usual. Poseidon caught her eye, smiled, and nodded. And Annabeth smiled and nodded back.

The father-son conversation didn't last long. When it was over, Percy came back and just held her, right in the middle of the dance floor, for a long time.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Perfect," he promised, kissing her forehead. A shiver of pleasure traced her spine.

Annabeth noticed, as she low-key danced with her friends, what looked like a demonic flaming ballerina howling as they hurled pats the tent, trailing tulle and flames, Calypso trailing after them, yelling "LEO VALDEZ, STOP ATTACKING THE DECORATIONS."

Annabeth elected to ignore that.

Slowly, the crowd dissipated, and by three in the morning it was just the core group. The seven, Reyna, Nico, and Calypso, smiling at Leo. They all had their feet on one of the tables as the staff started subtly clearing things up.

"Who will cook?" Leo challenged, trying to stump the newlyweds.

"We take turns," Annabeth said.

"Yeah," Percy said. "I cook fun food, she cooks healthy food."

Annabeth whacked him. Hazel, head resting on Frank's shoulder, laughed.

"Number of kids?" Reyna tossed out.

"Absolutely, positively, no more than three," they said simultaneously.

"Newlywed fistbump," Percy announced.

"Newlywed kiss," Annabeth countered.

"I like that better." They kissed (obviously). Nico covered Hazel's eyes. "Innocence at stake!"

"Nico, I am nineteen years old," Hazel scolded. Frank flushed.

"You ruined the cinnamon roll," Frank informed Percy. "It's all your fault."

"Bro," Percy said. "I'm kissing my wife. Hold on a sec."

"That's fun to say," Annabeth said happily, obliging him.

Piper sighed contentedly. "That will take some getting used to."

"I think they'll be perfect," Calypso said softly, smiling.

"You have no idea," Nico said vehemently, "how freaking long it took them to FINALLY get together."

"And when we did, you all chucked us in the lake," Percy reminded him.

"And I'm sure that bothered you _immensely_." Nico countered.

"So," Piper said, stretching. "Was it a perfect wedding?"

Annabeth thought of her mother's surprise visit, the flaming tulle she'd heard about earlier, the near-disaster with Magnus and her dad, Leo's demonic ballerina impression, the monster at the tunnel, the apple juice, the cake frosting, and she grinned at Percy.

"Yeah," she said. "It was."

 **And that's the Percabeth wedding! I'm taking baby name requests—as Athena mentioned, they are having a girl. I'm also taking requests for scenes pertaining to the baby/pregnancy, and have used/drafted every request given to me, so if you want to be part of what is quickly becoming funny Percabeth fluff, just send me a request. Next up are various funny (and highly G-rated) honeymoon scenes, and after that, everyone finding out Percy and Annabeth are having a baby. Enjoy, review, & keep reading!**


	12. Water Names Are A No

"Water names."

"Smart names."

"Water."

"Smart!"

"Water!"

"Smart!"

"Perseus Jackson, stop tickling me!"

"I am incapable of _not_ tickling you, Annabeth Jackson."

"Put me down, Seaweed Brain!"

"Do you agree to name our daughter something that does not have to do with water?"

"No."

"Into the sea we go!"

"NONONONO!"

"LOOKOUT BELOW!"

With a triumphant splash, they tumbled from the swim-up porch into the warm blue waters of the Pacific. Annabeth shrieked with laughter as she surfaced, soaking wet. Percy did not surface, naturally. She swam leisurely around where the porch of the bungalow met the sea until she came to the soft sand of their small, personal beach. She waded on shore, enjoying the sun on her back as she wrung out her shirt. Actually, it was one of Percy's older, rattier t-shirts. Now it was salt-encrusted and would smell like ocean for weeks-not that he would mind. Her blue pyjama shorts, on the other hand, she had cared about. Ah well.

She sat down on the sand, careful not to plunk down too sharply. It had been three days since the wedding, and she was becoming increasingly aware of the fact she probably couldn't keep up her usual level of activity. Her normal brisk run was definitely out. She wouldn't be doing lunges or vaulting over monsters. She had Percy for that. She'd woken up late the morning before-she had never loved sleep so much in her life-to sun streaming in from the porch of the bedroom. The whole part of the bungalow facing the sea was rimmed with a giant swim-up porch. The rooms accessing it had three usual walls and one that was a giant glass sliding door. Her first morning there, Annabeth had slipped out of bed, walked three steps, slid open the door, and took another two steps out into the ocean. There was a near invisible meal service where someone from the resort proper drove up the only land-access rode to the bungalow, rang the bell to ensure he wasn't walking in on anything, and delivered a fantastic spread. They did, of course, have the option to walk up to the main part of the resort where all the restaurants and cottages were, but they were happy to be alone together. Anyway, Annabeth had woken up to find Percy sliding back into bed next to her.

"Did I wake you?" he whispered. She shook her head sleepily, resting her head on his chest. She sniffed. "You smell terrible," she exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Monster dust," he said apologetically.

"Percy, do not get monster dust in our amazing fluffy cloud bed!" She teased, but quickly scanned him for injuries, insuring that he was safe and well. None that she could see.

"Pregnancy had hardened you," he joked, slipping out of bed again and heading for the sea.

"Ha, ha. You okay?"

"Routine skirmish," he grinned. "Harpy gone ballistic. You sleep like a rock, by the way."

"Only in cloud beds." She looked up at him expectantly. He kissed her, then went out to swim while she slept some more.

She'd also been reading a ton, usually in a gigantic, submerged bubble in and around the coral reef. They swam constantly, sometimes in bathing suits, sometimes fully dressed. Not that she'd worn anything but pyjamas since she'd got here. Her hair had so much salt in it that it made a scrunching sound when she tossed it up on her head. Her skin was already dark, her hair sun-streaked, and Percy's torso was nut-brown from running around without a shirt. He argued that since he was always in a bathing suit or about to hit the sea, it made sense not to wear one, and anyway she kept stealing his. All of that was true, of course, but it didn't help the fact that it was extremely distracting.

She tilted her head to the sky and closed her eyes, soaking in the rays. She heard the sand shift as Percy emerged soundlessly from the waves and sat down next to her.

"Why won't you let me name our daughter something to do with water?" she asked good-naturedly, unmoving.

"I'd rather do something that reflects you."

"You're sweet." she opened an eye. His eyes were trained on the sea, water glistening on his dark hair and tanned skin. "Can I still use your mother's name?"

He grinned, turning to her. "That you can do." He kissed her, and she tasted salt from the water on both of them.

"This is paradise," she sighed, lying down on her back in the warm sand, heedless of the grains affixing themselves to her hair.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she yawned. "I ache. This morning I felt a little n the sick side, and I could really, really use a giant spoonful of chocolate frosting."

Percy laughed, the sun sparkling off the water on his skin. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "So long as you're okay. We'll set up a doctor's appointment when we get back, right?"

"I told Piper to book one for me. Did I tell you she and Jason were thinking of getting married in early January?"

"Jason did mention something about a winter wedding. They want something small, right?"

"They won't get it if Piper still wants me as maid of honour," Annabeth said ruefully, running a hand over her flat-but-not-for-long stomach. "I'll be massive by then. I'm supposed to have this baby by the end of February, so long as I can figure."

"I'd bet my life on your math. I have, actually." Percy flopped on his back next to her. "This is surreal."

"What is?" she asked blissfully, closing her eyes against the sun. The waves lapped over her toes.

"Everything. This place, us being married, us becoming parents especially—holy gods, imagine us as parents."

"It still hasn't really hit me," Annabeth admitted. "Probably because we've told nobody. I mean, Piper knows, but she guessed and we didn't talk about it all that much. It's still weird."

"It's a good weird, though."

"Yeah."

She must have dozed off, because when she opened her eyes she was stretched on the porch swing facing the sea. Percy must have decided leaving her out under the elements was hazardous to her health. Blearily, she lifted her head. The sun was already high in the sky. On the table next to her was a note and a bowl. She picked up the note.

"Gone 4 a swim. B back soon. Xoxo, Percy"

She looked into the bowl and grinned. Chocolate frosting.

She _liked_ being married.

 **Short chapter for you! I'd tell you more about the honeymoon but you can imagine that that would change the rating. Bottom line is, they're having a lovely, lazy time. Also an important take-away: We have a tentative baby arrival date, and a potential date for the Jasper wedding. I'm also working up to a very sweet Frazel engagement. I will be skipping large amounts of time from here on out, don't worry, so we should have a Percabeth baby in the next seven or eight chapters. Keep reading, suggesting & reviewing!**


	13. Aaaaannnddddwe're back

"Hello?" Percy called, knocking on the doorframe. The garage's massive doors were wide open; sunlight streamed into the cluttered workspace. He couldn't make sense of most of it; the center of the garage that was Leo's pride and joy was occupied by an entirely gold chariot with a broken wheel. A pair of tanned legs and cutoff shorts stuck out from under it.

"Hello," Calypso called, wheeling out from under the broken chariot. Her cinnamon hair was piled messily on her head, and chain grease left smears all the way up to her elbows and across her nose. "You're back," she said, jumping to her feet and grabbing a rag from a table covered with weaponry and sketches. She smiled shyly at him from under her freckles.

"Yeah," he said, smiling back. "Is Leo here?"

"Chef Leo is," she corrected, and picked her way over wheeled contraptions, blueprint sheets, scattered tools and a sleeping Festus to the back wall. She banged on the wall in a series of strategic taps. Percy cocked his head. Morse Code?

A second later, there was a series of responding thumps. Calypso rolled her eyes. " _No lo sé. Ven tan pronto como sea posible , la reparación chico!"_ she yelled. Leo yelled back in Spanish, his words muffled.

Calypso turned and, in stark contrast to the harsh yells, smiled charmingly. "He'll be out in a minute."

"Thanks," Percy said. He gestured to the workshop around her. "From gardener to mechanic, huh?"

"New world, new me," she replied, sitting on the edge of a table. Percy leaned against the chariot. It had been a while since they'd talked. Some awkwardness lingered even after all these years. It always took a solid conversation to warm up to her again.

"The girl from Ogygia probably wouldn't be fixing chariots," he said, tone light.

She shrugged. "I changed. You changed me. Leo changed me." She spread her hands. "This world is a very different place from the one I left. This is where I fit in now."

"I know." He said, still lightly.

She smiled wryly. "I know you do. I was so angry when you left, but…It helped me to figure out who I was. And when I came back, and could see why you left, I wasn't even jealous. Annabeth completes you. She's much better for you than I would ever be, better than I could've ever been."

"I second that. The part about Annabeth, I mean," Percy added hastily. She laughed musically. Festus lifted his head and creaked. She creaked back, slipping off the table.

"Remember trying to sing our way into the Underworld?" She asked, stepping over some prototype and snatching up a pile of odd bolts.

"Was I ever outmatched. You and Piper practically had to carry me down there after we got the door open," Percy exclaimed. She grinned. "Now that was a Seaweed Brain moment."

A few years back, Percy had wound up on a quest with Piper and Calypso. Now that was a match—his sister(practically) and his sort-of-ex all jumbled together on a journey involving magic beauty cream, a reborn Chimera, and one run-in in Central Park involving Orpheus' gate to the Underworld, which could only be opened by music. Percy wound up goofy-eyed listening to the charmspeak song of both girls, and they'd wound up fighting their way out of the Underworld, dragging him along. Percy had forgotten how handy it could be to have an immortal daughter of Atlas around. That had been a quest of confrontations: dealings with personal demons, worst nightmares, Tartarus flashbacks (it'd been the first time Percy and Annabeth had been separated since—that place) and one explosive yelling match on a Denver rooftop.

After that, Percy and Calyspo had buried the hatchet.

"Annabeth liked that story," he remembered.

"How is Annabeth?" Calypso cocked her head, laughter dancing in her eyes. Percy opened his mouth, then narrowed his own eyes. "How did you know?" He exclaimed. She burst out laughing.

"For one thing," she exclaimed, "the two of you look like you've been conspiring to win Capture the Flag for weeks.I knew there had to be some reason behind it. For another, I noticed her switch champagne for apple juice."

"That's all it took?" Percy marvelled.

"I have a very tuned in baby radar," she countered, and crossed her arms. "I'll hear the story later." It wasn't a question.

"Amigos!" Leo yelled, bursting into the garage. He grinned, bearing a platter of his demigod-famous tacos. "Lunch break. How was the honeymoon?"

"Excellent," Percy said, grinning. Leo set down the food and they clapped each other on the back.

"What can I do you for?" Leo asked, as Calypso snagged a taco and a kiss on his cheek. He held up a hand to Percy-just a minute—and snagged her arm, turning her around until he could kiss her.

Festus set his head down with a thud and a mechanical eye roll. Percy looked away, flushing.

"Guest," Calypso exclaimed, breaking away.

"It's just Percy. Besides, he and Annabeth make out in front of us all the time."

Calypso rolled her eyes, smiled at Percy, and stepped over to the other side of the garage, humming cheerfully.

"So when are you putting a ring on it, Valdez?" Percy asked, as Leo pushed his tacos out of the way and drew a screwdriver from his tool belt.

"Whenever Zhang gets the ring for Hazel," he replied easily. Percy laughed. Frank was taking a famously long time to actually propose, although the marriage question had been settled months ago.

"Weapons trouble for Mr. McShizzle?" Leo asked, business-like.

"Shield hit during sword practice," Percy admitted. He unstrapped his wristwatch; yet another gift from Tyson, who was always carving new shields depicting new adventures. "It only assembles part way now."

"Easy gear jam. Tyson's work, right?" Leo asked, examining the watch.

"How'd you know?"

"All craftsworkers have their own distinctive handiwork. I can tell." Leo expanded the shield and set to work. "So where's Annabeth?"

"Running plans for the museum by the Senate."

"You'd think they wouldn't even have to check her blueprints. Olympus' architect, for Zeus's sake." Leo's nose caught on fire as he concentrated. Percy decided against mentioning it.

"I think she likes it this way." Percy smiled to himself. "Always moving."

"What about you?" Leo looked up, giving Percy that serious look that was still slightly unnerving. "Where are you moving, Fish Head?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know. I like training recruits. But I miss the sea."

"Think you'll move out there some day?" Leo unscrewed a tiny dented gear with deft fingers.

"Probably not," Percy admitted. "I've got this degree in Marine Biology, you know? I feel like I should be using it."

"You won't find a lot of opportunity for that in New Rome," Leo pointed out, a little glumly.

"To be honest, I don't really want to use it. If I want to study sea creatures, I can just go out and hang with them."

"Here's one for you," Leo said, jabbing a wrench at him. "If you could do anything with your life, no limitations, what would you do?"

"I'd like to be happy," Percy said firmly. "I'd like to be left alone by monsters _and_ Olympians. And I really would like to live happily with my wife after all that."

"I can't blame you for that one. Man, we'd all better have much happier endings than the original Greek heroes." Leo summoned a welding flame to his left index and set to work.

"We have duct tape," Percy pointed out. "They didn't."

"Excellent point, amigo. Voila!" Leo compacted the shield into wristwatch form and expanded it again. It worked perfectly.

"Thanks, man," Percy said, distracted by his own thoughts.

"Anytime." Calypso appeared again, waving a screwdriver. "Leo Valdez, did you hide this from me?" She demanded, light in her eyes.

"Uh," Leo flushed, clearly guilty. "I can't help it if you have good taste in tools, sunshine."

Calypso rolled her eyes, resisting a smile. She turned to Percy. "We'll see you tonight?"

"What's happening tonight?"

"Fireworks," Leo exclaimed. "Did you forget? It's the annual dangerous explosives show." He flung his arms wide. "Best day of the year!"

"Oh right," Percy remembered. It was July, after all—fireworks season. "We'll see you later, then."

"Bye," Leo said. Calypso waved. Percy caught another kiss between them as he headed down the avenue. It was nice to see them happy.

"Did you know it was fireworks night?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"Of course," she replied, smiling at him. Her skin was deeply tanned, her eyes sparkling. She tilted her head, fastening another earring. It was that evening. Percy was trying to find a decently nice clean shirt. Most of his stuff was still crammed in his duffel. Annabeth's was already washed, folded, and put away, naturally.

"How was your day?" He asked, coming up behind her and resolving to distract her as much as possible by kissing her temple multiple times.

"Excellent. The Senate approved my blueprints. They're breaking ground in September, and they'll need me for most of the up front stuff. The building should be done by March, at which point, hopefully, they won't need me."She twisted to face him, eyes excited. "I saw the doctor today."

"And?" He prompted.

"He says February 24th," she replied, turning to the mirror and grinning at him. "And that everything is perfect."

Percy kissed her again. "I'm really happy, Wise Girl."

She smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad." She turned and pulled a fresh shirt almost out of thin air (actually the dresser) and tossed it to him with a knowing grin. "Same Seaweed Brain."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he replied. She turned back to the mirror, hunting for an elastic, when he caught her wrist and spun her to face him.

"Hello," she exclaimed, then quieted as he kissed her. "You're in a good mood," she said breathlessly, breaking away.

Percy shrugged. "Leo pointed out something to me today."

"Yeah?"

"He asked me what I wanted most in the world, and I realized I have it."

"And what do you want most, Seaweed Brain?" She asked coyly, pulling a nice pair of shorts from her drawer.

His eyes sparkled his reply at her. She laughed as he swept her up and off her feet, as though she were falling in love all over again.

 **FLUFFFFFYYYYYYY. Next chapter is a very special fireworks night, followed by a chapter set in New York, and probably a giant time jump after that. Requests are being accepted! I'm officially looking for monsters and quest locations, as well as funny elements to past quests that will be referred to throughout the story. As you saw in this chapter, demigod adventures don't stop with Gaea.** **Wedding ideas for the Jasper wedding are in high demand, and any cute Frazel moment ideas are also wanted. Review & keep reading! **


	14. Pick A Number Between One and Thirty

**Yes, I'm alive.**

 **I'm so sorry for the long update break. I'm currently in rehearsal for a show that opens March 3** **rd** **, and with six or seven hours of rehearsals a day plus schoolwork I've been busy. In light of the show, I'll be posting another chapter in the next couple of days then taking a break until roughly the second week of March. I know that's almost a month but I promise I'll keep updating as much as possible. Thank you so, so much for the reviews, follows, and favourites. Y'all are better than the dam snack bar. Please enjoy this lovely fireworks night, and I'll write for y'all just as soon as I can. Cheers!**

"Pick a number between one and thirty," Piper said, doling out paper plates.

"Eleventeen," Leo said, taking a third World-Famous Hazel Levesque cookie.

"Eighteen," Percy said, ignoring Leo, from where he lay sprawled over the ground with his head in Annabeth's lap. "Fifteen," she said, playing with his messy hair absentmindedly, watching the darkening sky.

"Nine," Reyna said, but she said it in Latin on pure force of habit as she passed the rolls over to Frank.

"Twelve," Calypso countered in Greek , grinning as she twisted the top off of a glass lemonade bottle.

"Twenty-two," Frank offered.

"Twenty-nine," Hazel said, smiling as her container of cookies returned to her, nearly empty. She took one and bit into it.

"Fourteen," Nico said, picking apart a ham sandwich that had been passed his way.

"That's everyone but you," Piper said, turning to Jason with the sunset reflected in her eyes.

"You already have my vote," he returned, picking a cupcake out of another circulating container.

They were sprawled over several picnic blankets in a forest of similar encampments spread through the vacant war games field. It was Fireworks night, and excitement hummed in the air. Leo had done his part in the setup; the execution was up to the visiting Hephaestus cabin and the Vulcan kids. The gang was enjoying an evening off, and dinner was a joint effort, everyone having brought picnic food and passing it around potluck-style. The sun was just now setting.

"What did we vote on?" Hazel asked, brushing crumbs of her sweet, red-dotted summer dress. Piper, lying flat on her stomach with her bare legs crossed in the air, laughed and bit into a sandwich. "Our wedding date."

"Wow," Reyna said. "You really are trying to be low-key."

"As if the rest of our lives aren't crazy enough," Jason said, smothering a brownie in peach preserve. "Point," Reyna conceded, nodding her head and reaching for a strawberry.

"So we decided on January," Piper announced. "I like the fifteenth. Smack in the middle. What do you think?" She asked Jason, pausing in her eating to look up at him.

"I'd like to get married right now, but sure, the fifteenth works." She threw a strawberry at him.

"I win," Annabeth announced. "That was my vote." She reached over Percy for another sandwich. "So how was everyone's week?"

Frank swallowed. "It was good. Busy."

"Four renegade unicorns, three explosions, and one mad harpy," Nico counted off. "So basically, it was extremely laid back."

Annabeth laughed. "How about you?" Calypso asked slyly. "How was your week?"

"Wonderful," Percy replied. "And that's all you need to know."

There was a mix of laughter.

"Look," Jason said, pointing to the base of the hill, where shadowy figures scurried around. "They're about to start."

"Hopefully no one gets incinerated this year," Hazel said with a sigh.

"When did that happen?" Percy asked incredulously.

"A while back. It wasn't a particularly Roman way to go, was it?" Hazel turned to Frank.

"What?" he said, startled, and shook his head as if to clear it. "Sorry. I got distracted."

"Where have you been lately?" She chided gently.

"I don't know." He smiled sheepishly. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Uh," she began, but Frank was already on his feet, offering her a hand. "We'll be back," Hazel promised the group, looking a little perplexed. The two strode off into the night, hand in hand.

"He's nervous," Leo remarked, on his third cupcake.

Nico sighed, his eyes on the horizon. "I know why."

"Why?" Reyna asked with interest. He turned to her, flashing a Ghost-King grin. "I'm not telling. You'll find out soon enough."

Just then, the first of the fireworks burst like a luminescent flower blooming over them all. Golden sparks flashed into formation, forming the SPQR of the legion, entwined with the Greek letters for CHB. Violet, sapphire, amber and ruby lights weaved in and out of the stars, forming scenes from mythology: Atalanta on the hunt, Bellerophon inadvertently killing his brother, Hercules causing Hera considerable pain. They tilted their heads to the sky as fireworks formed moving pictures in flaming colour, like movies on steroids.

"Look," Jason said, softly. He pointed to a spot a few sloped yards down the hill, lit up by the dazzling colour above them all. Frank and Hazel stood there, watching the sky, silhouetted against the glowing horizon.

"Is he—" Piper began, hopefully.

"Ssh," Annabeth whispered. "I don't want to miss this."

They watched as Frank turned to Hazel. He said something, and she stepped back, startled. He slipped to one knee then, smiling at her, and Hazel's hands flew to her mouth. Her shoulders shook, and they couldn't hear what Frank was saying, but they could see the ring box in his hand. There, against the backdrop of the twinkling, whirling fireworks illuminating the night sky, Frank Zhang asked Hazel Levesque to marry him.

She threw her arms around him and kissed him, her answer as clear to them as if she had spelled it out. It wasn't their moment to listen in on, anyway. It was absolutely magical, with the stunning backdrop of the lights, the warm summer air, the festivity dancing through the night.

"Wow," Reyna whispered from their picnic blanket camp. Somebody sniffled.

" _That's_ why he was nervous," Nico said. His voice was impossible to read, but his face was bittersweet, as if he knew he was losing another sister. He smiled a little sadly. "Frank asked me beforehand."

"That's so sweet!" Calypso exclaimed quietly, leaning against Leo, who was smiling with his right ear ablaze.

"Yeah, well, Frank is nothing if not traditional." Nico lay back on the blanket, the light of the fireworks casting shadows on his face. "I'm happy for them," he said finally, as if he'd finished boxing away all the emotions that came with giving his last remaining relative away to someone else, even if that someone was perfect for her.

"I think we all are," Percy said quietly, and they watched the newly engaged couple kiss under the exploding stars.


	15. Surprise! We're--

**Well. *smiles deviously*. I'm back demigods! Did you like the last chapter? I did promise you a Frazel engagement, after all. I need ideas for Piper & Jason's wedding DESPERATELY, so please send in whatever you've got. This next chapter is a compilation of Percabeth telling various people that they're pregnant. I had a bunch of ideas so I just wrote them down and put them in order. I'm also inserting some time jumps into this chapter, so following this update, I'll be handling the Jasper wedding. If you have Caleo or Frazel ideas, let me know! Leo did promise that when Frank proposed, so would he—and now he's about to follow through. So how would Leo Valdez propose? Let me know what you think! I'll be checking my inbox as much as possible. Thank demigods! *mwah***

 _ **Sally & Paul**_

In the first couple weeks of August, they went up to New York to spend the weekend with Sally and Paul. It was a slow time at Camp Half-Blood, what with the summer session coming to a close, so this was purely a family-oriented visit. They were going to celebrate Percy's birthday a little early, since his actual party was going to be held back in New Rome.

They arrived with plenty of hugs, laughter and baked goods. Sally promptly sat both of her children down and insisted they tell her absolutely everything about the weeks since the wedding, with a few exceptions, obviously. Paul went around in a cheesy apron making his world-famous enchiladas, discussing history in earnest with Annabeth, and trailing Sally to make sure she sat down and stopped fussing. Sally whapped him with a spatula and told him she was allowed to fuss over her extremely lethal half-god child as much as she liked because goodness knows he never can stay out of trouble. Annabeth laughed so hard at this statement that she almost cried, while Percy turned pink before getting up and hugging his mom.

Night fell on New York City until its blaze of bright lights lit up the night sky, and all was well in the apartment. They ate dinner and Paul told Percy all about the Greek plays he was putting on at Goode while Sally had an earnest discussion with Annabeth about the apartment back in New Rome. Afterwards, they gathered in the kitchen. Annabeth sat at the kitchen table and Paul leaned against the wall while Sally washed dishes and Percy dried, occasionally flicking bubbles of water at Paul and then laughing at him when he tried to swat them off.

Annabeth caught Percy's eye. They'd agreed that he could tell his own parents, and seeming to get the message, Percy announced, drying a plate, "So guess what, Mom?"

"What?" She asked, pausing to smile up at her extraordinarily tall son.

"Annabeth's pregnant," Percy said casually, drying his dish. He waited, barely suppressing a massive grin, as his mother froze in place.

Sally dropped her rag. "No," she gasped. "No. Really? Are you really?" She whirled to face Annabeth, who had started to laugh. Percy started laughing, too, and Paul just stared and shook his head. Sally started to jump up and down. "You are not!" she cried again, clearly ecstatic, this time directing her question at Annabeth, who, laughing, pulled an ultrasound scan from her doctor's appointment the week before from her back pocket. They'd already framed a copy of their own and hung it in the soon-to-be-nursery, but hadn't told anyone else yet. Sally grabbed the picture and stared, her eyes filling. She looked up at Percy, her hand pressed to her mouth.

"Are you happy?" Percy asked, grinning.

She nodded, speechless, then threw her arms around him, then Annabeth, then Paul for no apparent reason.

"Really?" She kept asking, thrilled. "Really?"

"Really," Annabeth promised, laughing.

"I'm so happy," Sally exclaimed.

"Congratulations," Paul said, not for the first time, although his wife's reaction had overpowered his own considerably.

"Thanks," Percy said, grinning. "We'll have to get you a World's Best Grandpa mug, or something."

"Man, I feel old," Paul mumbled, half to himself.

"I'm going to be a grandma!" Sally exclaimed, ecstatic, kissing Paul for no real reason.

"You're going to be the world's most amazing grandma," Annabeth said sincerely.

 _ **The Seven & Significant Others**_

On Percy's birthday, the Seven, Calypso, Nico and Reyna piled into Percy and Annabeth's apartment for blue cake, ice cream, and only slightly in-appropriate party games.

"We got you all gifts," Annabeth announced. "Because we're great like that."

"Thou art a blessed saint," Leo drawled, slightly intoxicated.

"You guys are so sweet," Hazel exclaimed. "You didn't have to."

"Oh, we know." Percy grinned at Annabeth, who was seated on the arm of his chair. "We're just awesome."

Jason snorted dramatically, then made a show of turning it into a badly-covered-up cough. "Sorry, bro," he said, clearly fake-acting. "Allergies."

Piper whacked him as her package landed in her lap. Everyone had packages roughly the same size and shape, and Annabeth insisted they all open them at once.

"One, two, three," she announced, and everyone tore into them.

There was a thirteen second pause as people took in what said on the shirts each had received.

"No. Way," Jason said first, breaking the silence as he stared at his World's Most Staticky Uncle t-shirt. "NO WAY!"

"You have got to be joking," Nico mumbled, but he was shaking his head and suppressing a smile as he took in his pitch black World's Most McDonald's-Happy Uncle shirt. Hazel, pink-cheeked and speechless, was fanning her face so hard her hand might've fallen off. Her shirt read, World's Best-Aged Auntie. Frank was staring, and Piper was laughing, and Calypso was just shaking her head and grinning. Leo had spontaneously burst into flames, repeating, "You have got to be kidding me," over and over. Reyna looked torn between laughing, scolding, and laughing harder. Annabeth and Percy were in stitches.

"ARE YOU PREGNANT?" Hazel yelled, staring at Annabeth, who nodded breathlessly between fits of laughter. "OHMYGODS," Hazel yelled, leaping to her feet. "REALLY?"

"Look," Piper exclaimed, holding up her t-shirt and laughing. "I'm World's Most Persuasive Auntie!"

"Or you're going to be, anyway," Percy pointed out, grinning.

"Really?" Hazel exclaimed again, pink-cheeked and beaming.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Annabeth exclaimed, but she was smiling.

"Hey, I'm World's Best Lost & Found Auntie," Calypso laughed.

Leo stared. "Wait a minute. Did you know?"

"Maybe," she said mischievously.

Piper's mouth dropped open. "I didn't know you knew!"

"You knew?" Jason yelled.

"Why do you think I sent you for apple juice at the wedding?" Piper said without thinking, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"You've been pregnant since the wedding?" Reyna yelled at Annabeth, the praetor already wearing her BOSS AUNT shirt.

Annabeth flushed. "Well, yes."

Frank looked deeply uncomfortable. "Let's not go into details."

"Isn't it wonderful, though?" Hazel exclaimed, clearly ecstatic but still fanning her face.

"You're creating a draft, sis," Nico said, but he was smiling.

"Tell me everything," Reyna demanded. "Details, Jackson, details!"

And they obliged.

 _ **Tyson & Grover, Rachel Dare, Thalia Grace, Chiron**_

To say it was a busy fall would be an understatement. As soon as the golden haze of August disappeared, campers scattered in all directions, scampering home from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter at top speed. New Rome was suddenly largely devoid of teenagers, occupied instead by university students and families, as well as Senate members, camp officials, and the ever present lares. With the influx of campers gone, New Rome's "off season" had begun, and the officials decided now was a good time for construction of both the museum and other projects. New Rome was expanding, and Reyna and Annabeth made a lengthy presentation to the Senate arguing the merits of an additional barracks for Camp Jupiter on top of the three housing projects going up on the outskirts of the bustling city. Security had to be increased, too, which was Frank's division—he could be seen running around the city having earnest discussions with various incarnations of Terminus about additional border security and talking to long-standing citizens about where they felt extra safety measures should be put into place. Percy was cornered by both Reyna and Frank on two separate occasions asking for his help on the new security project. Combat was quite likely, weird critter experience was a must, and all things considered he was well qualified. Percy thought it was a great idea. Jason was roped into the project, too, although he was more part-time, what with having a year of university to finish up.

It was the security project that gave Percy and Annabeth an excuse to travel up to New York in mid September. The Senate wanted to know if Camp Half-Blood wanted some extra security as well, and if the measures being put up around New Rome were welcome there, too. Percy eagerly volunteered to go up to New York for a weekend.

They spent Friday night with Sally and Paul and the new dog, the ironically named Sisyphus, a beagle Paul had begged for since he and Sally got married. Then they went up to camp, and were greeted by, of all people, Thalia Grace and Grover Underwood.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth exclaimed, ecstatic, as she and Thalia hugged.

"Passing through," Thalia grinned, punching Percy hello. "Chiron said you were coming so we stayed an extra day. How was the honeymoon?"

"Warm," Percy said ruefully, gazing at the drizzly September weather. Grover grinned. "We can't all live in warmth, buddy. Missed ya."

"Tyson, Ella and Rachel are here," Thalia said, grinning.

"You're kidding!" Annabeth exclaimed, hugging Grover hello.

"Nope. Got in from Delphi last night. I swear, that is the weirdest harpy I have ever met," Thalia said as they started towards the Big House. The huntress was dressed in black and silver, a circlet in her spiky hair and various pins scattered over her ripped up jacket.

"You can hardly blame her," Grover pointed out, ever the faithful wildlife protector.

Camp was moderately busy, Hunters and year-round campers scattered around the lawn, cabins, and canoe lake. Percy felt like he was coming home. He couldn't stop grinning—especially when Tyson came barrelling towards them and nearly killed Percy with an over-zealous hug, shouting, "BROTHER!"

"Missed you, big guy," Percy said, grinning as Tyson enveloped Annabeth in another eager hug.

"Save some for me, Tyson," Rachel said, appearing on the porch and smiling. She was very tanned and freckled; her clothes paint-splattered and her hair messy. She was a sight for sore eyes, to say the least. Ella fluttered nervously about the porch, clearly excited to see Percy again, rambling about the head of Medusa and the original Perseus and spouting bits of prophecies. Chiron appeared in wheelchair form, smiling at them all as they hugged and chattered. There was a sadness and a joy in his gaze; as if he were remembering all the heroes who had not made it this far, and rejoicing in those before him, who had. Percy climbed the steps and stood before his trainer, grinning.

"Chiron," he said. "It's good to see you."

"And you, my boy," Chiron replied, smiling up at his pupil. "Tell me everything."

"Is Mr. D around?" Annabeth asked as they all went in, she lingering next to Chiron as they walked.

"Not today," replied the centaur. "Business on Olympus."

"Everything okay?" Percy asked, trying to hide how glad he was as they all sat around the hearth.

"Perfectly fine, my boy, aside from the usual. Only three quests this summer, you know."

"How was Delphi?" Annabeth asked Rachel.

"Warm," Rachel said. "And extremely confusing." Her eyes were bright with a fresh challenge. "Very inspiring for my paintings, though. Tyson seemed to like it, didn't you, big guy?"

"It was surrounded all sides by the warmest sea," Tyson said enthusiastically. "The fishies were very nice. Rainbow gave us a ride."

"Rainbow the hippocampi," Thalia mused aloud, tasting the words. "Now that's a phrase you don't hear every day." Grover choked on a laugh.

"Better than Bessie the Ophiotaurus," Percy offered, green eyes dancing.

"Don't remind me," Thalia exclaimed, laughing. Grover echoed emphatically.

"If we've got you all here," Annabeth said, taking one of Percy's hands, "we might as well tell you something. Percy?"

"We're repainting," Percy said blithely.

Annabeth whacked him. "You're hopeless, Seaweed Brain."

"What?" Percy exclaimed innocently, grinning. "Did you want me to tell them that you're pregnant?"

Rachel shrieked, leaping to her feet. "You're pregnant?"

"Traitor," Thalia exclaimed, but she was grinning. Tyson had gone wide-eyed and Ella was fluttering about, rambling, "baby, child, infant…" Annabeth laughed. "That was not how I wanted to tell you, but yes, we're having a baby."

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Tyson yelled, leaping to his feet. Grover was so excited he started bleating and shaking everyone's hands but Percy and Annabeth's, much to Ella's nerves' chagrin.

"Congratulations, Jacksons," Chiron exclaimed, smiling. "You've quite the adventure ahead of you."

"Yeah," Percy said, grinning at Annabeth. "This one, though, I think I'll actually like."

 _ **The Chase Family (including Magnus)**_

It probably wasn't the best thing in the world, to tell Annabeth's family last, but Annabeth wanted to do it in person. By then, she'd been pregnant since late May, and it was already the first week of October: she was a full four months along. It wasn't like Annabeth's family lived particularly far away, but a blend of conflicting schedules, travelling on both ends and Frederick's absentmindedness delayed the visit a full month. By then Annabeth had resorted to wearing hoodies and sweaters everywhere she didn't want to be obviously pregnant, and they'd had it confirmed that it was a girl.

To say Frederick Chase took it well would be stretching things. Actually, he looked like he didn't know what to think. Annabeth's stepmom was clearly excited about it, chatting animatedly with her stepdaughter as she poured tea, and Annabeth's half-brothers also seemed pretty pleased. Frederick seemed unnervingly speechless. It wasn't until Percy and Annabeth were leaving that, without a word, he enveloped Annabeth in a hug that rivalled the embrace of Tyson the Cyclopes.

That seemed to answer any questions pretty well.

Finally, Annabeth tracked down Magnus long enough to tell him to meet her in San Fran. Percy was not invited to the meeting, and Annabeth would not say a word about it when she returned. She was in good spirits, though, laughing to herself and humming as she helped Percy make dinner, wearing one of her first maternity shirts; a pretty blue thing that made her eyes spark.

As it happened, Magnus had sworn Annabeth to secrecy on account of his accidentally climbing back into the World Tree, then reappearing with an exasperated Samirah al-Abbas, who congratulated Annabeth, extinguished Magnus's flaming eyebrows, and started a friendly debate about American presidents. Magnus, in an attempt to live down his surprise, congratulated his cousin, but got over excited about it and accidentally did it in ASL. Finally, after much laughing and shawarma, they managed to hug it out and get in a nice, cousin catch up with Sam running monster interference.

 _ **How they told everyone it was a girl:**_

"Ready?" Annabeth asked, grinning.

"Yes," Piper practically shouted for everyone. She was filming; Annabeth was brandishing Percy's sword, and Percy was standing next to her, shaking his head and laughing. From the ceiling hung a dragon-shaped piñata, and the living room was full of friends and family.

"Go!" Percy exclaimed, grinning. Annabeth swung Riptide into the piñata and it burst in a shower of bright pink confetti.

"It's a girl!" Hazel yelled ecstatically, tossing a handful of confetti into the air, her engagement ring sparkling. She and Frank were thinking early spring as a potential wedding date; Leo had yet to ask Calypso The Question, but he seemed to be working up to it. Jason and Piper's plans for a January wedding were in full swing, although it seemed to be near impossible to keep the thing small and simple. Piper's mom kept interfering and dropping by with overly enthusiastic tips.

"I win!" Reyna crowed, laughing, turning to Nico, who had confetti in his hair. Smiling, he forked over a couple of denarii. Leo accidentally ignited some of the confetti and Percy got overenthusiastic in his fore extinguishing, until everyone was damp and the pink confetti stuck to everybody. They all fell laughing into their seats and talked until the sun went down, then video-messaged Sally and Paul, who were ecstatic. Annabeth sent the video to her parents, and after dinner, they walked along Temple Road burning pink confetti at various altars to officially let the Olympian parents know.

"I guess we'll have to buy blue _and_ pink now," Annabeth told Percy.

Percy's eyes widened. "I hadn't though of that!"

Annabeth laughed and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure we'll manage."

The sun set on a quiet New Rome.


	16. She say whhaaa?

Percy came home to find Annabeth in the nursery, adding silver veins to the marble pillars of the Parthenon. The cool, early November sunlight streamed in the open window, lighting up the wall she was working on. Her hair was tied messily back with a bandana and newspapers and palettes were scattered over the floor. She had that new project gleam in her eyes as she worked.

"Hallo," she said brightly, looking up at him. She was wearing one of his old camp shirts. "How was your day?"

"Good," he said, grinning at her. When she'd left for work this morning she'd had her hair pinned and an ironed blouse on. He liked her even more like this—excited and messy and his. "How are you?"

"The museum," she said, "is a disaster. I love it. They want me to completely redesign the East Wing to accommodate some massive statue. Isn't that wonderful?" Her eyes gleamed with the idea of a fresh challenge. Percy laughed. "Only to you. How's Piper?"

"Surprisingly sane," Annabeth said cheerfully. "She left an hour ago after agonizing over how to get Leo into a suit."

"How did _you_ manage that?"

"Death threats," she said, just as chipper. "And your mom sends her love." Every Wednesday Sally and Annabeth had a marathon phone call.

"Did she like the new ultrasound?"

"She's sending something in the mail, apparently," Annabeth said, glowing.

"And how is baby Jackson today?" Percy asked, leaning against the door frame and debating whether or not to keep talking with Annabeth or kiss her.

"Active." Annabeth stood with the kind of carefulness that came with being much more top-heavy than usual. "She's been running laps all day. Here, feel." She caught Percy's hand and pressed it to the curve of her stomach. Sure enough, little bumping flutters met his touch.

He was aware he was grinning like an idiot, but he really didn't care .

"Are you hungry?" Annabeth asked him, smiling up at him with her grey eyes. "Hazel's making gumbo for Frank and they invited us over.

"That is the best idea I've heard all day."

"That's what I thought. Let me change."

"What, no paint clothes?"

"Very funny, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth began cleaning up. Percy got on his hands and knees to help her. She changed while he tried to make his hair look like it didn't defy gravity, then gave up and checked to make sure he had his sword on him. Annabeth appeared in a very pretty turquoise shirt, and they walked hand-in-hand down the piazza to the pleasant, sunny apartment building Hazel and Reyna lived in. Piper had originally lived with them, but had rarely ever been there, and finally moved the majority of her stuff into Jason's spare bedroom.

Reyna answered the door, juggling two daggers, a bagel, and the full length of her senate robes. "Evening," she said around the rim of the coffee cup clenched between her teeth.

"Need some help?" Percy asked.

"Yesh, thirty shecondsh." Reyna turned and dropped her bagel on the nearest surface, then handed her weapons over to Percy, readjusted her robes, then took back one of her daggers and slung it in her belt.

"Thanks," she said brightly, securing the second blade in the pocket of the shorts she hid under the folds of her robe. "Hi. I'm on my way out, clearly."

"How goes it in Reyna-land?" Annabeth asked, giving her friend as best a hug as she could, then handing the bagel back over to her. "I feel like I never see you anymore."

"I know, it's terrible. Are you free Wednesday?" Percy didn't hear the rest of the conversation as he wandered into the cozy apartment, following his nose. "Hello?"

"Percy!" Hazel shouted, sticking her head out from the kitchen and beaming. "Come in come in!"

Percy grinned and obeyed, stepping into the deep orange kitchen. Hazel scurried around in a bright red apron, stirring and chattering. Frank stood there looking like he wanted to help but wasn't quite sure how; and Nico sat at the table, clearly amused by the entire scene.

"Smells amazhang," Percy cracked. Frank rolled his eyes, tossing Percy a dishtowel. "Just for that, you can start on the dishes."

"No, he cannot," Hazel scolded. "Sit down and let me feed you, both of you. Percy, did you forget your wife again?"

"Not this time," Annabeth said, grinning as she appeared in the doorway. "Hi, everyone."

There was a chorus of hellos, followed by Hazel insisting everyone sit down while she poured everyone iced tea.

"Look," Nico said, holding up a photo that lay next to a stack of mail on the prettily set table. "It's Coach Hedge's kid."  
"He's so tall now!" Annabeth exclaimed, peering at the picture.

"Coach says I can give him archery lessons next time I'm out there," Frank said, preening a little. Percy grinned. "You'll earn your stripes, Zhang."  
"Has Leo infected you?" Nico asked, drily.

"Are they coming?" Annabeth asked Hazel, eyeing the extra place settings.

"No, but Jason and Piper might if they have the time. Everyone's so busy," Hazel sighed, peering under the lid of a pot. "Nearly done."

"It smells like Elysium," Frank informed her. Hazel grinned. "Well, don't expect me to cook all the time."

"Have you set a date yet?" Annabeth asked, absently running her hands over her stomach.

"We were thinking midsummer," Frank said. "A couple of months after Jason and Piper's."

"And that gives you guys some catch up time," Hazel added.

"Hope you guys are sleeping again by then," Nico said, getting up to start on the dishes, despite his sister's insistence.

"Me too," Percy said feelingly.

"Do you have a name yet?" Frank asked.

"We have an idea," Annabeth said, slyly.

The door opened, and a voice called, "Hellooooo?"Piper and Jason burst in, pink-cheeked and grinning.

"Look out the window," Piper yelled. "Come on, come on!"

Skeptical, everyone stood and followed her to the living room windows. In the fading light, the piazza was visible, largely empty but for the two figures in it's center.

"Shut up," Nico said immediately. "Is he—"  
"SSHHH!" Three girls yelled, swatting him. They pressed their noses to the glass, watching the two people below: Leo and Calypso. Leo was on one knee. Piper squealed ecstatically and Jason shushed her.

Calypso's hands flew to her mouth. Leo's grin was visible in the streetlights. He pulled something from his pocket that glinted bronze in the golden glow. There was a small shower of sparks, then a stream of white fabric burst forth from the tiny contraption. It unfurled, forming a good-sized banner. In shimmering gold lettering, the banner read, "Join Team Leo?"

Calypso was laughing and crying. Leo grinned, standing and draping the banner around her shoulders. He said something, and she nodded, laughing again. He pulled something from his other pocket and took her hand. A second later, a diamond glinted there. She threw her arms around him and kissed him, still laughing. In the apartment above, a cheer erupted. Leo's whoop as he pulled back was visibly through the glass. Piper had the window cranked open by then.

"YESS VALDEZ!" She hollered.

"She said yes!" Leo whooped, and Calypso laughed again. "Yeah I did!"

"Come in for gumbo!" Hazel yelled. "I have champagne!"  
"One sec," Leo hollered back, and turned and kissed his fiancée again, sweeping her off her fete and earning several jeers and whoops from above.

That was a good night, in Hazel's warm kitchen, with bubbly champagne and plenty of laughter filling the room. You couldn't see their scars when they smiled, and they smiled more every day.


	17. WE ACTUALLY MANAGED A SMALL WEDDING

**At long last, the brief & beautiful Jasper wedding. Enjoy!**

The day of the wedding was shatteringly pretty.

Unlike at Percy and Annabeth's wedding, Piper and Jason actually managed to keep their wedding down to the bare minimum. This was mainly due to location: held at Piper's father's stunning Malibu mansion, everyone who wanted to be there had to commute. Hazel spent hours shrouding the place in anti-monster Mist and the demigods always made sure to have one person on watch.

Percy and Annabeth, Frank and Hazel, Leo and Calypso and eventually Reyna all trickled in the day before the ceremony. Even though it was January, the wedding weather promised to be beautiful. Mr. McLean made burgers and veggie burgers, more cheerful than he'd been in years; chatting with all of Piper's friends and charming them to pieces. Piper ran around in a fit of sheer happiness, showing the girls to their guest rooms in her father's massive, airy mansion and walking everyone through the ceremony. Percy, Frank and Jason wrestled with setting up the tents for the next night while Leo helped with dinner, sharing secrets about taco spice with the attentive Mr. McLean.

The house was right on the beach; The Seven spent long hours of the evening on the sprawling back patio, where the caterers would be setting up the next day. The stars came out and winked over the private expanse of sea; Percy disappeared into it for several hours at one point before returning to Annabeth's side. It would be the longest he left her until their daughter was born; as it was when he came back he curled up like a puppy next to her and followed her most of the busy next morning, ready to rush her off to the delivery room at any moment.

"You're hovering, Seaweed Brain," she informed him, kissing his forehead with her arms full of crisp blue flowers. Piper and Jason's wedding was the same colour as the wintery ocean, a clear grey-blue with plenty of white.

"I can't help it," Percy said cheerfully. "You're too pretty to resist."

"You guys make me sick," Leo groaned dramatically, marching past to fix the tent and chairs being set up in the bright sunshine. Hazel snorted next to him, carrying a box of tall white candles. "Hypocrite."

They all ate breakfast together; Mr. McLean spent most of the morning monitoring setup while Annabeth ran decorations, Reyna oversaw the caterers, Hazel started getting Piper ready and the boys became increasingly wild. The ceremony was at one; Nico showed up early and was once again drafted into greeting guests, who milled around on the patio and beach.

"Your moment, bro," Percy informed Jason, clapping him on the back as they went downstairs. Jason had a massive grin on his face. It had been there all day.

The groomsmen took their places in front of the roughly sixty guests. Everyone important was there: Thalia and Piper's siblings, Chiron and Coach Hedge, friends and coworkers, random branches of the expansive Greek and Roman family trees, and miraculously few monsters.

The bridesmaids were first down the aisle in clear grey-blue; each dress was only alike in colour and all the girls had big white flowers in their hair.

Then it was Piper's moment.

She glided down the aisle on her father's arm, carrying a small bouquet of flowers and beaming. Her dress was pearly white, with a slim fit and a gentle, small flare of silky fabric brushing the ground. It plunged in the back and possessed a simple sweetheart neckline with simpler spaghetti straps. Piper's hair was loose and shimmering, in place of a veil she wore a beautiful circlet made of tiny, woven white flowers. The overall effect was jaw-droppingly stunning, carried off as only Piper could. She glowed like she'd been blessed by her mother herself; only it was no magic, it was sheer happiness.

Piper and Jason became Mr. and Mrs. quickly; the ceremony was brief, tear-jerking and beautiful. The sun dazzled over the quiet ocean as they officially kissed for the first time as a married couple to a massive cheer from the ecstatic guests. The demigods surged forward; everyone surrounded the happy couple, laughing and chattering and throwing flower petals.

"Let the games begin!" Leo hollered. And so they did: it was a party that rivalled any bash New Rome and Camp Half-Blood could muster up. People danced until the sun went down and long after; Frank disappeared to slay a few curious monsters at one point and discovered the full force of the Hunters of Artemis around the premises, complaining nonstop about guarding a wedding. Leo set several things on fire, least of all Calypso's dress; Piper and Jason never strayed farther than a hand width from each other and Annabeth held court from the head table, drinking bubbly juice and kissing Percy at regular intervals. Nico and Hazel engaged in a swing dance off around eleven; Piper tossed her bouquet to a crowd of cheering Aphrodite siblings; Jason played the same music of The Great Skeleton Dance Party and put the Seven in stitches. Nectar and ambrosia circled the party while Leo tracked the platter, ensuring Mr. McLean—the only mortal present—did not get any. The Hephaestus kids put on a dazzling fireworks display around midnight, after which people started to go, drifting off to various hotels and kissing everybody on their way out. Annabeth, bone tired, starting attacking what remained of the cake with a fork; she was quickly joined by Hazel, then the bride and groom, then all the others.

"So did this make you want to get married?" Percy asked Frank and Hazel, his mouth full of cake.

"As soon as humanly possible," Hazel laughed. Annabeth groaned. "Please wait until after I have this baby."

"You hanging in there?" Percy asked sympathetically.

"I'm golden," she assured him. "But if I get any heavier I'll explode."

Piper laughed, her hands entwined in Jason's. "I can't wait to meet little baby Jackson."

"What about Baby Grace?" Reyna asked wickedly, spinning her empty fork. Jason flushed. "Later," Piper promised, laughing again.

"It was a gorgeous wedding," Calypso said wistfully, gazing out at the many twinkle lights reflected on the water.

"It was," Jason agreed, his eyes on his radiant wife.

"We're next," Hazel said happily, beaming up at Frank, who grinned back. "Ours will probably wind up a little more formal, I'm afraid."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So what do you say?"Annabeth asked, stifling a yawn as she addressed the new Mr. and Mrs. Grace. "Was it a successful wedding?"

"Absolutely," Piper sighed happily, as they all watched the stars peer through the thin veil of clouds.


	18. Introducing

They didn't tell anyone they were going to the hospital. Annabeth didn't want to feel crowded or have to play hostess or frankly embarrass herself. And besides, this was their moment, when their twosome was lost forever to the great adventure of family. They would never be just Percy-and-Annabeth again. They would be Percy-and-Annabeth-and "?".

There were many photos taken within moments of the arrival of Jackson baby number one. But the one Percy sent out in the quiet, rosy hours of the dawn, when all the fuss was over and mother and baby were sleeping peacefully, was by far his favourite. Annabeth slept on her side, the spill of her hair, slant of her nose, and the faint cup of the hand resting on the pillow all visible in the frame. Pulled up next to her was the baby's glass bassinet, bearing that inexplicable wonder inside. The baby slept in the exact same pose as it's mother, hand resting on mattress, nose slant replicated exactly on their velvet skin, the tuft of curls—albeit much darker than their mothers—sweeping across their tiny brow the exact same way. That was the moment Percy was blown away completely by this stranger he knew so well, and the moment he feel head over heels in love.

Piper was shaken awake by Jason, who was grinning at her. "What's wrong?" She murmured sleepily, propping herself up on one elbow and rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"  
In answer, Jason held up his phone with the picture Percy had sent him glowing. The message was simple: Please welcome Mackenzie Sarah Jackson to the world; February 19th, 2:53 am, 7 pounds 11 ounces. The phone pinged again, and there was the first family picture, taken just minutes after Mackenzie was born. Percy sat on the edge of the bed next to Annabeth, sweat along her hairline as she held her daughter. Both parents were looking, clearly captivated, at the baby, and Percy was kissing Annabeth's temple. The message read, "Surprise."

Piper shrieked. "They had their baby!"  
"They had their baby," Jason grinned, examining the new picture. Piper's phone rang and she scrambled for it, only to get the full blast of Hazel's shriek in her ear.

"She's perfect," Hazel was saying, ecstatic. Frank was laughing in the background. "Holy Hades, why didn't they tell anyone?"  
"Because it's _them_ ," Piper pointed out, laughing. "Together or not at all."

"Another text," Jason announced. "'Want to know why we named her Mackenzie?'"

"YES," Piper exclaimed, Hazel still in her ear.

"I'm calling him," Jason decided.

Percy picked up ring one. "Sup," his voice was low, a little more gravelly than usual, but casual.

"That's all you have to say."

"Dude, there are no words." Percy's smile could literally be heard over the line.

"How did it go?"

"You don't want details. But they're fine. They're both fine."

"I'm really happy for you, man."

"Thanks. That means a lot." Percy paused. "So do you want to put Piper on the line, or let her salivate some more?"

Jason laughed, and held out the phone to Piper, who was bouncing up and down.

"Percy," she yelled. "Oh, my gods. I want to know everything. Is she okay? How healthy is she? What does her name mean? How's Annabeth?"

"Calm down, Pipes. It's like five am."

"Percy, please," she charmspeaked pleadingly. Percy laughed. "Fine. She's perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, brown hair and from what I've been able to tell, greenish greyish eyes. They are big and absolutely stunning. And Annabeth was spectacular, as always."

Piper squealed. "So what does her name mean?"

"Well, the Sarah part is for my mom, because Sally comes from the name Sarah, apparently. It means either princess or noblewoman, I think. I picked her first name," he said proudly, "because I thought it was pretty, but mostly because it means "child of a wise leader".

Piper broke out laughing.

Meanwhile, Jason has Hazel on the phone in one ear, and his own phone—held captive by Piper—was pinging as someone tried to get through. Jason waved his arms around, signalling.

"Percy, I'm calling you back in five minutes," Piper said decisively. "And I want more pictures."

"Three pics and you call me back in the morning," Percy bargained.

"Deal." Piper sighed ecstatically. "I'm really aggressively happy for you guys."

Percy laughed quietly. "Thanks, Pipes. I'll talk to you soon." He hung up, and Piper answered the incoming call. A barrage of noisemakers and firecrackers met her ears.

"DID YOU HEAR?" Leo practically yelled Piper's ear off. Jason got off the phone with Hazel only to have Piper's phone, still in his hands, buzz with another incoming call. He answered quickly, holding a hand over his free ear to block out his wife's conversation.

"Yes!" Piper was shouting back at Leo with equal verve.

"I'm on the phone with Reyna," Jason told her, and she nodded, still holding Jason's cell to her ear. "Did you get pictures?" She asked Leo.

"Yeah, the one with 'surprise' as the caption, right?"

"Hey, Pipes, there's more," Jason said, grinning as he held out her phone. Piper couldn't resist a squeal as another three pictures of Baby Jackson came in, each one more adorable than the last. Reyna had hung up, vowing to call back in the morning and make plans to visit the newly minted Jackson family.

None of them got much sleep that night. They were all calling each other, juggling cell phones, squealing and exclaiming and celebrating. There are few moments of complete happiness in a person's life, let alone a demigod's life. When they come around, you savour them. So they did, in different apartments and different places: in Jason and Piper's apartment, both of them still nut brown from their honeymoon, studying pictures over a glass of diluted nectar. In Hazel and Frank's, among bulletin boards pinned with wedding tidbits, in the warm glow of the oven light, with the jazzy music of Hazel's childhood playing softly in the background. In Reyna's apartment, as she sifted through her organized drawers trying to find wrapping paper and baked cupcakes at five am because she was happy and she could. In Leo and Calypso's warm, above-garage apartment, with much noisemakers and Spanish tunes, and Festus' humming and creaking as the couple started an aggressive hand of Crazy Eights.

In a quiet hospital room across town, Percy celebrated just a little more.

He called his mother.

Sally awoke from a dead sleep, her answer sleepy and vaguely concerned. "Hello?" she asked groggily.

"Mom," Percy said, his voice breaking.

"Percy," she exclaimed. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine." He swallowed hard. "We had our baby, Mom."

There's a moment in nearly every parent's life when their baby has their own baby. When, suddenly, the cycle goes on and everything changes. Everything a parent has ever felt about their child comes rushing back and they think, as they hang on to a phone or a newborn, so it goes again. My baby will feel all of this now, everything I have felt, they will feel. Their baby, this miracle, will change everything for them.

Sally Jackson had that moment sitting in a bed miles away from a son whom she had let out her door every morning, wondering if he would ever return. She had wondered if she'd ever have this moment, had wondered when her son disappeared for months or was home hours late or marched off into a battle he may not return from. She didn't wonder anymore. She was still and silent for a moment, quiet tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

"Oh, Percy," she whispered.

The cycle began anew.


End file.
